Linklaters has acted as legal adviser to six Italian Regions (Lazio, Lombardia, Campania, Puglia, Marche and Liguria) on a €5.6 billion cash tender offer. The ground-breaking Italian deal was aimed at reducing financial costs for the regions and streamlining the structure of their debt, with the buy back funded by a loan from the Italian government.

This is the first time a transaction of this nature has been completed in Italy, and of particular significance is the fact that all 6 regions are launching the tender offers simultaneously.

The tender offer is based on specific legislation which was enacted in 2014 and presented a number of challenges due to the unprecedented nature of the transaction and the legislation.

The Linklaters team in Milan was led by Capital Markets partner Dario Longo and included counsels Linda Taylor and Elio Indelicato, managing associate Silvia Di Stefano and associate Alessandro Gemmo.