Summary

English schemes of arrangement under the Companies Act 2006 (Schemes) have been increasingly used by non-English companies as a powerful tool to restructure their financial indebtedness. Recent prominent examples of German companies that have utilized Schemes to cramdown non-consenting or “holdout” creditors in order to restructure the company’s balance sheet include TeleColumbus, Rodenstock and Primacom.

There are several reasons for this trend:

Restructuring companies in respect of which there exists a significant credit default swaps (CDS) market adds an additional level of complexity which the debtor and all stakeholders should consider and assess early on in the process, as it could determine the success or failure of a restructuring plan.

Summary

In one of the most eagerly awaited appeals to affect the restructuring and insolvency community since MyTravel, the Court of Appeal in the European Directories case ruled on Friday 22 October that:

The court’s sanction of DTEK's latest scheme includes novel references to its outstanding bank debt and helpfully rules on the controversial 'domicile test'.

Liability management exercises (“LMEs”) are increasing in the bond and capital market and are often used in relatively benign situations. They are certainly not always a precursor to a full-scale restructuring or insolvency.