Dutch and Irish arms of Giorgio Armani lodge plan to merge
Thursday November 05 2009
AN IRISH-registered financing company of the Giorgio Armani fashion group is seeking court approval for merger with a Dutch-registered branch of the company.
The proposal is part of a scheme aimed at "streamlining" the group's financing operations.
The Dutch company has net assets of €462m, while the Irish company has assets of €7.6m. The merger, as stated in court documents, will be of "great significance" to the Armani group especially in connection with its fiscal planning and tax treatment in Italy.
Petition
The merger petition has been presented by GA Corporation Finance Ltd (GACF) to the High Court Central Office. It will be entered into the Commercial Court list for hearing later this month, Mr Justice Peter Kelly directed yesterday.
GACF, with registered offices at the AIB International Centre at the IFSC in Dublin, has applied for the directions on the proposed merger between GACF and the Dutch-registered Giorgio Armani Netherlands BV (GAN). The group says the economic and legal reasons for the merger are the "simplification and streamlining" of the holding structure of the Armani group.
There are also a number of cost reductions that can be achieved by reducing the number of entities within the group, and the concentration of the financial resources of GAN within GACF.
The merger will also concentrate in GACF the ownership of certain companies within the group.
GAN's primary activity is the holding of investments in other companies in the Armani group.
The court hearing is required to ensure the companies have properly completed the pre-merger requirements provided for in the relevant EC regulations.
- Tim Healy
Irish Independent
