In a break from the “one share one vote” principle, issuers of Italian-listed stocks now have more flexibility in their capital structures.

Legal framework –

Law Decree No. 91 of 24 June 2014, as converted with amendments into law No. 116 of 11 August 2014 (the Competitiveness Decree), introduced significant changes to Italian corporate and securities laws set out in the Italian Financial Act (Legislative Decree no. 58 of February 24, 1998) with the aim of boosting long term equity investments and promoting access to Italian equity capital markets. On December 23, 2014, the Italian Securities Regulator, CONSOB, adopted resolution No. 19084 (the Resolution) amending the Issuers Regulation no. 11971 of May 14, 1999 (the Issuers Regulation) in order to enact the regulatory provisions necessary to complete and implement the general rules which the Competitiveness Decree introduced. The Resolution came into force January 1, 2015 and the new legal framework, as resulting from the Competitiveness Decree and the Resolution, is now fully applicable.