Mariella Burani acknowledges resignation of chairman

MILAN Feb 17 (Reuters) - The chairman of Italy's Mariella Burani Fashion Group MBFG.MI has resigned, the company said on Wednesday, as the fashion group seeks protection from its creditors.

"The board ... acknowledges the resignation handed in by Walter Burani from the position of Chairman of the board ... with immediate effect," the company said in a statement.

The luxury goods maker, which has debt of nearly 500 million euros ($686.5 million), is seeking protection from creditors after it failed to get funds to cover nearly 71 million euros in losses.

Mariella Burani Fashion Group's creditors will likely become shareholders in the debt-laden Italian company as it seeks bankruptcy protection, its chief executive, Gabriele Fontanesi, said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday. [ID:nLDE61F06G]

Its creditor banks include Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and Unicredit (CRDI.MI), Fontanesi has previously told Reuters. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Gary Hill) ($1=.7283 Euro)