Practical guidance for private equity firms when tackling Italian portfolio companies’ questions during the pandemic.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Italian government has adopted significant steps to curb the spread of the disease. In particular, the government has issued four major extraordinary decrees: (i) the Law Decree no. 18 of March 17, 2020 (the Cura Italia Decree); (ii) the President of the Council of Ministers Decree of March 22, 2020 (the Cura Italia 2 Decree); (iii) the Ministerial Decree of March 25, 2020 (the Cura Italia 3 Decree); and (iv) the Law Decree no. 19 of March 25, 2020, which supplement orders and regulations implemented in late February to early March 2020, and affect the conduct of all activities, including the continuation of business and commercial operations. This White Paper will provide private equity firms with (i) an initial overview, from an Italian law prospective, of the questions that are most likely to arise in managing their Italian portfolio companies and (ii) a guideline of the most relevant issues.