Mariella Burani

MILAN, Feb 26, 2010 (AFP)- Italian company Mariella Burani Fashion Group said on Friday 26 February that it would be liquidated, abandoning plans to use bankruptcy protection to shield itself from big debts.

All board members have resigned after calling a "shareholder meeting to name the liquidators" on March 29 or 30, the group said in a statement.

The company, which has debt of close to 500 million euros (680 million dollars) also said it had halted all the "preliminary activity towards the presentation of a petition" to put itself under bankruptcy protection.

Mariella Burani, which owns the Mandarina Duck and Coccinelle brands, also licences brands such as La Perla and Bikkembergs.

Two weeks ago, the company had said it would initiate procedures to protect itself from creditors in order to continue operations and to begin restructuring the company.

Mariella Burani has lost 185 million euros over the course of the first nine months of 2009.

Walter Burani, who owns more than 70 percent of the company he founded with his designer wife Mariella resigned from the company presidency last week.

Judges declared Burani Designer Holding, one of the group's controlling holdings, bankrupt earlier this month. Italian prosecutors are investigating Walter Burani for accounting fraud and stock manipulation.