Background Italia was requested to carry out extensive research on a portfolio of companies with debt default in the tourism and real estate sector as part of a background and valuation screening by a potential investor. 

The aim of the project was to identify and value underlying assets, as well as the UBOs, of the portfolio of companies before the deadline for issuing a proposal for the acquisition of the debt.

Within a week’s time, Background Italia managed to establish the corporate structure of the company groups, the assets owned by the companies, their UBOs and it flagged integrity-related issues such as potential mafia links. Also, several of the underlying assets were identified to have been seized by the Italian tax collection agencies.

A German institutional investor tasked Background Italia with acquiring further details over the reputation, practices and integrity of a Spanish elderly healthcare provider. The institutional investor, interested in acquiring a non-controlling stake in the company, was carrying out a final reputational due diligence as part of its compliance program for investments in Southern Europe.

To fulfill the client’s requirements, the team executed a human intelligence operation that foresaw the retrieval of commentary from well-placed sources, such as former employees and competitors. The operation also engaged in the retrieval of corporate documentation to independently corroborate the legal shareholders and directors of the company.

While the company was not undergoing any civil litigation, risk derived from reputational aspects was identified; the company had been the target of criticisms by the general population and media amid a crisis prompted by the management of some of its elderly facilities in the south of Spain. Sources were able to corroborate this information, but suggested that the issue was not a structural matter and that the management had already taken steps to tackle the identified issues.

Preliminary research revealed that the company seemed to be under the direct management of an Italian individual with minimal experience in the energy field, but with an extensive array of directorships in the waste management industry in the center of Italy. Following these findings it was advised to expand the investigation to Italy and to carry out a series of discreet interviews in order to determine the context behind the individual’s appointment.

An expert team with knowledge in the local languages was soon gathered and put to work. An in-depth collection of data was executed, with the aim of understanding both the reputational standing and the financial strength of the company.

After carrying out preliminary searches, the team laid out a research plan comprehensive of checks in a series of European and offshore jurisdictions, namely the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. This, in order to establish the full picture of the interests held by the subject across the Globe.

Upon an initial inspection, it was identified that the company was a wholly-owned subsidiary of a British company, reportedly controlled by a Greek entity. As a result, the research scope was expanded onto those two territories.

Research discovered that the Greek company was controlled by a Greek entrepreneur with close familial connections to a well-known local politician.

A British investor was keen on assessing the current legal standing of a subject they were about to engage in business with in Portugal. Previous research had suggested that there were past and ongoing litigation proceedings against the individual, active in the real estate and tourism sectors. As such, Background Italia was tasked with assessing the current legal standing of the subject in the southern European jurisdiction.

Upon discovery, Background Italia’s local expert team moved forward to obtain as much information as possible in relation to the legal claims in a compliant manner.

While the overall assessment determined that no red flag issues were apparent with the subject and his corporate interests, it allowed the counterparty to rule out any reputational risk when engaging in business with him.

Discretion was crucial to prevent any backlash in regards to the investigation. A series of open-sourced checks were carried on the managers with key information on the M&A process. It was discovered that a manager of the company had close familial ties with a direct competitor, reason for which it was decided to establish surveillance on the subject for a period of time.

Background Italia was tasked with carrying out a background check on the CEO of an international fashion brand. The aim was to understand the relationship between the CEO and the chairman of the company, as well as the reasons behind his appointment in the role.

Discretion on the task was imperative, as the client was assessing potential business relationship with the company. Through research, data analysis and human intelligence, Background Italia managed to obtain valuable insights on the key points of the business and familial relationships between the two subjects and gave an understanding of how and why the CEO was appointed on the role in the first place.

Background Italia established that the CEO of the entity had been appointed to the role after having met the chairman of the company on a charity event; the personal connections between the two subjects were a major reason that explained why the chairman, a major shareholder of the entity, decided to appoint a CEO with limited experience in the role. 

Background Italia was commissioned a pre-transactional due diligence operation on a major Argentinian manufacturer of sportswear and its IArgentinian managers. The goal of the research was to identify potential issues regarding the reputation and integrity of the subjects related to the manufacturing company. 

The team established that the best approach was to conduct a thorough search of potential issues relating to the targets of the investigation through open-sourced research. With an understanding of the data and information publicly available, the team executed intelligence gathering on the ground to separate fact from fiction.

While no FCPA issues were identified, it was concluded that one of the Argentinian managers of the firm had been involved in a bankruptcy proceeding and a subsequent agreement with creditors at another Argentinian company. The finding, previously unknown to the potential buyers, provided a valuable insight into the management of the company and a base to make an informed decision.

Background Italia’s initial efforts were focused in locating the individual; it was concluded that the subject was residing in the suburbs of a major city of Denver, USA. The firm deployed boots on the ground and established daily surveillance on the claimant, in order to obtain evidence of her current physical ability to walk.

Background Italia engaged in a series of discreet interviews in order to understand the links between the manager and the unknown shareholders. Human intelligence revealed that the director of the company was the wife of a prominent IT manager in Italy who had recently been working closely with a Swiss investor.

Background Italia carried out an assessment of the publicly-retrievable information related to the target entities, its parent company and their management, and established that on-the-ground witness interviews were required.

Background Italia carried out an reputational DD assessment on the kangaroo meat producer, its managers and key shareholders. The firm also carried out a comparative analysis of the general trends of the market competitors, so as to provide the client with a benchmark of the current standing of the exporter.

Results on the reputational DD assignment did not identify any major issues with the company and the analysis of the overall market found that the meat producer was at a financially stronger position than its local counterparties.