In its judgment of 13 April 2026, No. 9260, the Supreme Court held that an external corporate link requires proof of the actual exercise of significant influence by one company over the strategic shareholders’ decisions of another. Such influence cannot be inferred solely from family or affinity relationships between individuals who are shareholders of different companies.
Furthermore, the establishment of such a corporate link does not give rise to a presumption, within the meaning of Article 2497-sexies of the Italian Civil Code, of the existence of a corporate group. For this purpose, strict evidence is required of the exercise of direction and coordination by the parent company over the other affiliates.