Shanghai Daily: Business - shanghaidaily.com
ITALY'S second-largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, is to pay 310 million euros (US$446 million) to settle a lawsuit with Parmalat SpA, an Italian dairy company that went bankrupt in December 2003. "The settlement brings all pending revocatory and damages actions and all reciprocal claims eventually to be filed to an end," the companies said in a joint statement distributed by the Milan-based Italian exchange. In June, Parmalat also settled lawsuits with Merrill Lynch & Co, ING Groep NV and Banca Monte Parma SpA for a total of 72 million euros, concluding all outstanding claims with those banks, Bloomberg News said. Legal action is still pending against Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, accountant Grant Thornton and other Italian lenders. Parmalat collapsed in 2003 with debt of 14 billion euros, almost eight times the amount reported by former management. The company had never generated a profit after its stock market listing in 1992, though it reported earnings