Coface: More Than 7,200 New Insolvency Proceedings opened in Romania in 2024, 9.38% More YoY

The latest study conducted by Coface Romania revealed that 7,274 new insolvency proceedings were opened in 2024, compared to 6,650 in 2023, marking a 9.38% increase. Among companies with a turnover above EUR 5 million, there was a 75% rise in insolvencies last year, Romania-Insider.com reported. Denied payment instruments have increased both in value (+30%) and number (+17%) compared to 2023 but continue to remain below the levels recorded in 2019, Coface said.
Romania
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Cryptocurrency Firm Founder Extradited from Portugal to Face U.S. Fraud Charges

The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm has been extradited from Portugal to face U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies, Reuters reported. Aleksei Andriunin, the CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, was ordered detained following an appearance in Boston federal court on Wednesday, one day after his extradition. Andriunin was indicted in October on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.
Portugal
United States
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Altice France Cedes Stake to Lenders in $25 Billion Debt Deal

Altice France, the European telecom giant led by billionaire Patrick Drahi, has struck a global debt deal with investors holding more than $25 billion in bonds and loans, one of the largest of a new breed of restructuring transactions, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The deal, which includes most of Altice’s creditors, could be the largest liability-management exercise for a European business to date.
France
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Thames Water Asks Castle Water, KKR for Detailed Equity Bids

Castle Water Ltd. and KKR & Co. have been invited to provide more detail on their bids as the process for owning the debt-laden utility Thames Water progresses, Bloomberg News reported. The US alternative asset manager and water firm Castle have been asked to submit revised bids this week. Both have previously put forward non-binding offers to inject around £4 billion ($5.1 billion) into Thames Water to help turn around the utility. The offer from infrastructure investor Covalis Capital, who is also a junior creditor of Thames, is currently less favored by Thames Water.
United Kingdom
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Seven-Year Inquiry Finds Nama Got Best Price for Project Eagle

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama), the state’s ‘bad bank’, appears to have got the best available price for a Northern Ireland portfolio of loans known as Project Eagle, a seven-year investigation has found, the Irish Independent reported. Nama had previously been criticised by the Comptroller & Auditor General for making a loss of £162m (€195m) from selling assets in Northern Ireland, and for the way it handled the sale. This prompted the Irish government to set up a commission of inquiry in 2017, which reported last October after several extensions.
Ireland
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German Antitrust Watchdog Weighs UniCredit Move on Commerzbank

UniCredit has asked German antitrust authorities to approve its move to take a substantial stake in Commerzbank, another key hurdle for the Italian bank to overcome as it pursues a possible takeover of the German lender, Reuters reported. UniCredit has built a web of financial transactions to secure a Commerzbank stake of just under 30%, putting it on the cusp of a full-blown takeover of one of the most important lenders to Germany's small and medium-sized Mittelstand companies.
Germany
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