While robust M&A and IPO markets have given investors solid liquidity options, in some cases selling a company to a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, can be an appealing alternative. Recent examples in the United States include the $500 million acquisition by Levy Acquisition Corp. of Del Taco in June 2015 and the pending $879 million acquisition by Boulevard Acquisition Corp. of AgroFresh Inc., a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone, has published a series of consultation papers on draft Financial Services and Market Regulations (the “FSMR Regulations”) which will establish the framework which will govern the licensing, operation and regulation of financial services firms established in the ADGM.

On June 23, 2015, the Italian Government approved important amendments to the Italian Bankruptcy Act. These amendments follow a major reform in 2012, which introduced U.S. Chapter 11-style proceedings in Italy by modifying the pre-existing concordato preventivo proceedings.

On June 23, 2015, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a debt restructuring outside of bankruptcy that deprives dissenting bondholders of assets against which to recover violates Section 316(b) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, 15 U.S.C. § 77ppp(b), even if the restructuring does not modify any indenture term explicitly governing the right to receive interest or principal on a certain date. Marblegate Asset Mgmt. v. Educ. Mgmt. Corp., No. 14 Civ. 8584(KPF), 2015 WL 3867643 (S.D.N.Y.

Healthcare spending is forecast to increase from US$3 trillion in 2014 to US$5.2 trillion in 2023, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 5.9 percent. US health care expenditures on a per capita basis are 1.9-2.6 times the amount spent by other developed nations despite having a much younger population. An Institute of Medicine workshop from 2010 suggested that 30 percent of spending results from unnecessary or inefficiently delivered services, price variation, excess administration costs, missed prevention opportunities and fraud.

Should the bankruptcy code be amended to make it easier for borrowers to seek forgiveness of student loan debt through a bankruptcy filing? The explosive growth of student debt has become not only a mounting political issue, but its near-suffocating effect on millions of Americans also has considerable macroeconomic impact. Read more

How much stress can we expect to see for oil and gas producers and related companies as a result of the current low prices? And what special issues does this industry face when it’s time to restructure or file for bankruptcy? We explore these issues in the following article (note that the prices mentioned reflect the time of writing, April 2015). Read more

On June 5, 2015, a three judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Court”) held that a district court may not discretionarily abstain from and equitably remand a properly removed state court action when the case relates to an ongoing chapter 15 bankruptcy proceeding. Firefighters’ Ret. Sys. v. Citco Grp. Ltd., No. 14-30857, 2015 WL 3540718 (5th Cir. June 5, 2015) (the “Opinion”). The Court gave a broad reading to the exception to a court’s discretionary abstention powers codified in 28 U.S.C.

A number of recent contested proxy situations have highlighted so-called “proxy put” provisions in companies’ debt instruments. These provisions (also referred to as “poison puts”) provide that a change in the majority of a company’s directors without the approval of the sitting board will constitute a change of control and, typically, an event of default. As a result, the company’s debt may be accelerated (most common in credit agreements) or the company may be required to offer to repurchase its debt at a premium (most often in bond indentures).

Commercial real estate assets in major markets such as New York City, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco have experienced a strong rebound in values and are being transacted near, or above, their pre-recession peaks. In contrast, real estate assets outside of major markets and within certain asset classes are experiencing more limited demand, often causing values to remain substantially below the pre-recession peak.