guarantee of Raytheon, whose executives have always negotiated said financing. 3. Anyway, it is known in Italy that one can enforce the claims directly against Raytheon because it has interests and revenues in Our country also outside ELSI. It is obvious that every attempt will be made (even at the cost of long litigation) to obtain from Raytheon what is owed by ELSI. 4. In the event that the plant will be kept closed, waiting for Italian buyers who will never materialize, the requisition will be maintained at least until the courts will have resolved the case. Months will go by . . ." 35. On 26 April 1968 the Chairman of the Board of ELSI wrote to Mr. Carollo formally rejecting the proposa1 for participation in the new management Company; in his view the proposa1 "was a temporary caretaker measure which would not solve the fundamental problem, namely keeping ELSI in Sicily and making it a viable and vital industry", and that it "would only aggravate ELSI's critical financial condition". The letter continued :"We are therefore forced to file [a]voluntary petition for bankruptcy, as required by Italian law." 36. In view of what had been said by Mr. Carollo that the requisition of the plant would be maintained for months, "at least until the courts will have resolved the case", ELSI's Italian counsel advised as follows : "The disposability of ELSI's assets was a fundamental prerequisite to ELSI's shareholders' ability to take ELSI through an orderly liquidation; they were relying on the proceeds of these sales in large part to pay ELSI's creditors in an orderly manner. Without the ability to dispose of its assets, ELSI would not have the liquidity needed to pay its debts as they came due and therefore would soon become technically insolvent under Italian law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 advised ELSI's directors that they had an obligation to file a petition for a declaration of bankruptcy, failing which they could be held personally liable pursuant to Article 217 of the Bankruptcy Law, Royal Decree of March 16, 1942, No. 267." On 25 April 1968 the Board of Directors voted to file a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy petition was filed on 26 April 1968. The petition referred to the requisition order of 1 April 1968 and stated (inter alia) : "Because of the order of requisition, against which the Company

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