Parmalat Files for U.S. Bankruptcy Protection

Parmalat, Italy’s biggest food company, filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection to shield assets from creditors while the company tries to reorganize in Italy.

The New York bankruptcy filing was made to bar the company’s creditors from filing lawsuits or other actions in the U.S. to recover their debt. The company is asking that a lawsuit filed by ABN Amro Bank in New York state Supreme Court in March be delayed until Parmalat exits bankruptcy in Italy.

Parmalat sought bankruptcy protection in Italy in December after the company could not document about $10.9 billion it had claimed to have in its accounts.

Parmalat subsidiaries Parmalat USA and Parmalat Capital Finance filed their own bankruptcy cases in New York this year.