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Diagnose first. Execute only if the diagnosis says so.

Eleven services across four stages, in the order a transaction actually meets them. Nothing in execution is sold before a diagnostic has said it is needed, and roughly three to five screenings are performed for every notification that results.

How an engagement runs Stage 1 · Qualify Stage 2 · Diagnostic Stage 3 · Execution Stage 4 · Retained Fees & engagement What we do not do

How an engagement runs

One branch decides everything that follows.

A screening ends in one of two places, and the whole engagement structure follows from which one. Most end with no filing required — which is a result worth having in writing, because it is what your board, your lenders and your buy-side counsel will ask to see.

We say so plainly when a screening is not needed at all. A prospect we turn away costs us a fee once; a screening sold to someone who never needed it costs us the referral source that sent them.

Start here

Screening

Five business days from complete facts to a written, signed conclusion on whether Golden Power applies to your transaction, and on what legal basis.

Branch A · filing required

Pre-notification or notification

Where classification is arguable, the voluntary thirty-day route. Otherwise straight to a full notification and the 45-business-day standstill.

Branch B · no filing required

Monitoring

The conclusion is accurate on today's facts. It stops being accurate the moment the group structure or the Italian activity changes — which is what the watch retainer exists for.

Stage 1 · Free Qualify Before you engage anyone, including us.

S0 · Both gates

Golden Power Triage

Four questions and an indicative answer on whether Italian screening is likely to apply to your transaction — with the rule that drives the result shown rather than hidden.

What it asks

What the target actually does, chosen from the strategic-asset categories
Where the ultimate investor is incorporated and controlled
The stake being acquired, and the transaction value
Whether this is an acquisition, a greenfield operation or an intra-group move

What you getA likelihood band, the applicable rule quoted, and what a standstill would mean for your calendar. It never returns “no filing required” — only that screening appears unlikely on the facts given. It is a filter, not an opinion.

Run the triage

FeeFree

Time2 minutes, self-service

Contact detailsNot required

Stage 2 · Diagnostic Decide Written conclusions you can put in front of a board. Signed by Italian qualified counsel.

S1 · Golden Power

Clearance Screening

A defensible written answer to one question, before you sign: does this transaction pass through the Golden Power gate, on what basis, and what does that do to the deal calendar.

What we need from you

What the target designs, builds and sells, and who its customers are
The ownership chain of the acquirer to ultimate beneficial owners
Deal structure: instrument, stake, value, whether control passes, timing
For greenfield, the planned Italian activity, assets and technology
For intra-group, current and target structure charts

Deliverable · 8–14 pagesSector classification with reasoning · investor nationality traced through the chain · threshold and trigger conclusion · route recommendation, being no filing, pre-notification or full notification · standstill modelled against your signing and closing dates · residual risk and the facts that would change the answer.

Clearance Screening in detail

Fee€4,000–7,000

Turnaround5 business days from complete facts

Signed byItalian qualified counsel

Bought byAcquirer, or its corporate adviser

S2 · Law 132/2025 & AI Act

AI Exposure Scan

Which Italian AI obligations attach to this business — the national layer of Law 132/2025 on top of the EU AI Act — and which of them it currently fails.

What we need from you

An inventory of AI and automated decision systems, including bought-in tools
Where each is used: recruitment, performance, scheduling, credit, triage, pricing
Vendor documentation and model cards where they exist
Employee information notices and HR policies currently in force

DeliverableSystem-by-system classification under the AI Act and Law 132/2025 · the obligations attaching to each · gaps ranked by severity and by enforceability date · the employment-decision finding stated separately, because draft decrees provide that dismissals in breach are void · a watch list of what the pending decrees will add.

AI Exposure Scan in detail

Fee€5,000–8,000

Turnaround7 business days

Signed byItalian qualified counsel

TeamWith a technical reviewer

S3 · Both gates · Flagship

Italy Tech Entry Clearance

S1 and S2 delivered as one pre-signing document: can Rome stop this transaction, and what will Italian AI law demand of the business the day after it closes.

Why the two belong together

Artificial intelligence is a critical technology for screening, so an AI target engages both regimes in the same transaction
The same facts drive both analyses — what the target builds, and who ultimately controls the buyer
Conditions attached at clearance often bear directly on data, models and personnel, which changes the AI conclusion
Bought separately, the two answers are produced by different firms and tend not to reconcile

DeliverableOne-page conclusion written for an investment committee · Part A, Golden Power screening · Part B, AI exposure · Part C, interaction between the two, with deal-document recommendations covering conditions precedent, warranties, indemnities and a long-stop date that survives the standstill · consolidated calendar.

Entry Clearance in detail

Fee€12,000–20,000

Turnaround10 business days

Signed byItalian qualified counsel

Bought byNon-EU acquirers of Italian technology businesses

Stage 3 · Execution Clear it Only where a diagnostic has concluded it is required. Filings are conducted with Italian co-counsel.

S4 · Golden Power

Pre-notification

Where classification is genuinely arguable, the voluntary route: ask whether a notification is required and receive an assessment within thirty days, instead of guessing and living with a void transaction.

When we recommend it

The target sits at the boundary of a strategic sector and the call could go either way
The transaction is intra-group and the strategic character of the assets is contestable
Greenfield activity whose technology may or may not be a critical technology
Your board or lender will not accept a risk-based conclusion without official comfort

DeliverableThe submission as filed · the government's determination · a note on what it means for the timetable and which facts would have to change for it to stop being reliable. We state the trade-off in writing first: thirty days of calendar, and earlier visibility, in exchange for certainty.

Pre-notification in detail

Fee€8,000–12,000

Statutory clock30 days

PreconditionS1 completed

Context175 of 835 filings in 2024 were pre-filings

S5 · Golden Power

Notification & Clearance

Preparing, filing and running the notification through to clearance or to deemed consent, while the transaction sits in standstill and voting rights are frozen.

What we do

Build the file: transaction, parties, ownership chain, strategic assets, commercial rationale
Prepare the case on why the transaction does not threaten the protected interests
File and manage the clock, tracking every extension
Respond to requests for information, which are ordinary rather than a sign of difficulty
Keep the deal's other advisers synchronised with the standstill

DeliverableThe notification as submitted · a running timetable your advisers can rely on · all correspondence with the authority · the final measure, with a closing note on any conditions attached and who inside the business now owns them.

Notification & Clearance in detail

Fee€15,000–35,000

Review period45 business days, plus extensions

Conducted withItalian co-counsel

Billed at costGovernment charges, translations

S6 · Golden Power

Prescriptions & Conditions

Where clearance comes with conditions attached: negotiating what they say, and building the compliance the business will be held to for years afterwards.

What conditions typically touch

Retention of assets, sites, personnel or R&D capability in Italy
Continuity of supply to Italian or EU customers
Governance: board composition, security officers, reserved matters
Data, source code and technology localisation or access restrictions
Reporting duties to the authority, running for years

DeliverableFinal prescriptions with a plain-language explanation of each · an obligations register naming an owner per condition · the reporting calendar · a note on which conditions constrain future restructuring, so the next reorganisation does not breach them by accident.

Prescriptions in detail

Fee€10,000–20,000

TimingWithin the review, then ongoing

Conducted withItalian co-counsel

FrequencyA minority of filings, high value each

S7 · Law 132/2025

AI Remediation Programme

Closing the gaps the exposure scan found: the disclosures, the human-in-the-loop redesign, the governance and the documentation that make the business defensible under the Italian AI layer.

Workstreams

Employee notices that actually state system logic, data parameters, accuracy metrics and oversight
Employment decisions redesigned so no outcome rests on automated processing alone, with the human decision evidenced
Governance: ownership of each system, an approval gate for new ones, an incident route
The system register that has to exist before AgID or ACN ask for it
Vendor terms allocating responsibility with the suppliers whose tools create the obligation

DeliverableRevised employee notices and HR process documentation · AI governance policy and approval gate · system register with classification and owners · vendor clause set · a closing memorandum recording what was fixed, what was accepted as residual risk, and why.

AI Remediation in detail

Fee€15,000–40,000

Duration8–12 weeks

PreconditionS2 completed

TeamWith a technical reviewer

Stage 4 · Retained Stay clear The obligation is continuous. Attention is not. These exist to close that gap.

S8 · Golden Power

Golden Power Watch

A standing answer to a question most groups never think to ask: has anything we did this quarter created a notification obligation.

What is watched

Changes in the ownership chain that alter EU or non-EU status at any level
Internal reorganisations, mergers, transfers of business units and asset moves
New Italian activities that may fall within strategic assets
Stake movements crossing a threshold, including staged and option-based ones
Changes to the strategic-asset lists themselves, which move by decree
Compliance with any prescriptions carried over from a clearance

Deliverable · quarterlyA two-page position note: what changed, whether any of it created a notification obligation, and what is planned next quarter that might. Plus an open channel between check-ins for “does this trigger anything” questions, and an alert whenever the asset lists or the regime change.

Golden Power Watch in detail

Fee€1,500–3,000per month

Term12 months, rolling

Why12% of 2024 filings came from internal reorganisations

S9 · Law 132/2025

AI Regulatory Retainer

The Italian AI framework is half-built. Two legislative decrees were approved only preliminarily on 10 June 2026 and remain subject to change. This keeps your position current as the ground moves.

What it covers

Tracking the implementing decrees from preliminary to final adoption, and what each changes
Guidance from AgID and ACN, and any regulatory sandbox worth using
Positions taken by Banca d'Italia, CONSOB, IVASS and the data protection authority
Updating your obligations register as rules become enforceable
Assessing new AI systems before they are deployed rather than after

DeliverableA living obligations register, versioned, showing every obligation, whether it is in force or pending, who owns it and what evidence exists. The monthly note is an update to that register, not a newsletter — and it is sent only when something actually changed.

AI Regulatory Retainer in detail

Fee€1,000–2,500per month

Term12 months, rolling

Honest noteConverts to an annual review once the framework settles

S10 · Both gates

Acquirer Standby

For funds and serial acquirers: screening capacity on call, priced annually, so Italian screening stops being a surprise that appears three weeks before signing.

What is included

A first read within 48 hours on any Italian target, at term-sheet stage
An agreed number of full screenings inside the annual fee
Preferential rates and priority scheduling on entry clearance and notifications
A named contact rather than an intake process
An annual briefing for the investment team on how the regime has moved

DeliverableAn engagement letter setting the response commitment, the included volume and the rate card behind it · a short pipeline note after each first read · the annual regime briefing. Notifications and clearance work are quoted per matter at the standby rate.

Acquirer Standby in detail

Fee€20,000–40,000per year

Includes4–8 screenings · 48-hour first read

Bought byPE and VC funds, M&A boutiques, corporate development teams

Fees & engagement

Fixed where the scope is fixed. Said out loud where it is not.

Diagnostics are quoted as a fixed fee after a short scoping call and do not move afterwards. Execution work carries a fixed base fee with a capped addition for requests for information beyond the first, because the number of those is set by the authority rather than by us.

What is billed at cost

Government charges, official translations, notarial and registry fees, and any expert input agreed in advance. These are passed through without uplift and shown separately on every invoice.

Conflicts, before facts

We run a conflicts check before any transaction is discussed in detail. If we are conflicted we say so immediately and, where we can, point you to someone who is not.

Who signs what

Every legal position is signed by Italian qualified counsel. Notification filings are conducted with Italian co-counsel who file regularly. We tell you which name sits on which document before you engage.

If you do not need us

Where a screening is plainly unnecessary on the facts you describe, we say so on the first call and do not open a file. That answer is free, and it is given more often than you might expect.

Out of scope

What we do not do.

Stated plainly, because a firm that claims everything is telling you nothing. If you need one of these, we will say so on the first call and point you somewhere better.

Merger control

A separate regime with separate authorities and timetables. We flag the interaction; we do not run the filing.

Full legal due diligence

We assess screening and AI exposure. Corporate, employment and IP diligence stays with your deal counsel.

Tax structuring

We identify where clearance conditions constrain a structure. We do not design the structure's tax position.

Litigation

Challenging a veto or a prescription before the administrative courts is work for Italian litigators, and we will introduce them.

Non-Italian screening

Parallel FDI regimes in other member states are outside our remit, though we will tell you when one is likely to be engaged.

Model auditing

We classify AI systems and their obligations. Bias testing and conformity assessment are for specialist technical assessors.

Next step

Start with the screening. Everything else follows from it.

Send us what the target does, where the ultimate investor is controlled, and what you are acquiring or building. We confirm scope and fee within one business day.

Request a screening Run the free triage first

Emailinfo@bcaun.it

Phone+34 610 520 725

WhatsApp+34 610 520 725

TurnaroundScope and fee within one business day

ConflictsChecked before facts are discussed in detail

Fees shown are indicative ranges for engagements of typical scope and are confirmed in writing before any work begins; they are not a binding quotation. This page is general information about Italian foreign-investment screening under Decree-Law 21/2012 as amended and about Law 132/2025 on artificial intelligence. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Legal positions are issued only under engagement and are signed by Italian qualified counsel; notification filings are conducted with Italian co-counsel. Descriptions of implementing decrees under Law 132/2025 refer to measures approved preliminarily on 10 June 2026 that remain subject to change before final adoption.