Parmalat faces crisis as resignations worsen financial woes

ITALY – A number of Parmalat’s key figures have resigned as the company continues to struggle with its finances, resulting in a further downgrade of its market value.

The company is currently trying to free up some of its substantial investments to pay debtors, but has encountered problems in liquifying its assets in an investment called the Epicurum Fund.

As a result of these problems, rating agency Standard & Poor revealed that Parmalat suffered two massive debt downgrades in 24 hours, and added that the company appeared to have misled investors.

Epicurum was originally to pay back Parmalat’s investment on 4 December, but said that it had encountered difficulties as the majority of the fund’s investors had also requested liquidation. As a result, the entire fund has gone into liquidation.

The final date set by Parmalat for the payment of