Italian food group Parmalat has said it has agreed a €105.8m (US$128.9m) bank loan to enable it to keep its milk factories in operation.
Parmalat said it had agreed the one-year loan with 20 creditor banks but said the amount was below the €150m that it had initially asked for, reported Reuters.
Parmalat filed for bankruptcy protection in December after revealing a billion-euro hole in its accounts.
Earlier this week the company’s Chilean operation filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and has now been given 90 days by a Chilean court to find a strategic partner and come up with a plan for paying off the $51m it owes to creditor banks and suppliers. Under Chilean bankruptcy rules, the company cannot be declared bankrupt or have its assets frozen during that 90-day period, Reuters reported.
