Parmalat announced today it is suing the investment banking arm of Credit Suisse for damages worth €7.1 billion.
Parmalat had already sued Credit Suisse First Boston in August 2004, filing a revocatory claim for a total of €248.3 million, over a convertible bond it underwrote. The Swiss bank was not immediately available for comment.
In the document added to its relisting prospectus and published in newspapers today, Parmalat detailed the legal battle by its administrators against firms they say helped precipitate the dairy giant's collapse - including cases against creditor banks that are now its top shareholders.
According to the document, Capitalia, Italy's fourth-largest bank by assets, owns 5.5 per cent of Parmalat, while Harbert Distressed Investment Fund owns 2.7 per cent and US bank JP Morgan has 2.3 per cent of the shares. Banca Intesa, Italy's top bank, owns 2.1 per cent.
Parmalat has sued former financial partners for €13.1 billion in damages, with further suits to recover €7.46 billion from banks that arranged debt deals in the months preceding its bankruptcy.
Parmalat, which plunged into insolvency in December 2003 amid a crippling financial scandal, will return to the stock market on Thursday after creditors approved a €12 billion debt-for-equity swap.