The enforcement of a lender’s claim for a make-whole premium in a chapter 11 case has created significant controversy among legal practitioners and the courts. Notably, the three circuit courts of appeal that have addressed make-whole claims, i.e. the Second, Third and Fifth Circuits, have issued conflicting decisions on the nature of these claims and their allowance under the Bankruptcy Code. In this post we provide a brief summary of make-whole premiums and address the controversy among the circuits.
Cognac Ferrand S.A.S. v. Mystique Brands LLC, No. 20 Civ. 5933 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 31, 2021) [click for opinion]
In brief
The North America Tax Practice Group presented The Future of IP Planning, the fourth webinar in the series The Importance of Tax in the Response to COVID-19 on 1 May 2020.
United States: Federal Reserve releases details of lending programs in response to COVID-19 pandemic, including Main Street lending program for mid-sized businesses
On 9 April 2020, the Federal Reserve announced that it would be providing up to USD 2.3 trillion in loans to support the US economy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The oil and gas industry in Texas is currently facing a double whammy from the recent oil price shock and COVID-19 related demand reductions. While exploration and production operators in Texas are proactively taking self-help measures to reinforce their financial frameworks — reducing capital spending, operating expenses, overhead and dividends — the outlook remains highly uncertain.
The current COVID-19 market environment presents unique circumstances to companies and investors who may, as a result of the tumultuous markets and the financial and personal effects of COVID-19, have opportunities to acquire distressed businesses at potentially depressed prices. Particularly in this market environment, though, one or more of the following scenarios may apply:
In this type of market environment, one or more of the following scenarios may apply:
On April 3, 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) re-issued and extended General License No. 13E (“GL 13E”) to continue the validity period for transactions concerning Nynas AB and its subsidiaries (“Nynas”) that otherwise would be prohibited under Executive Order 13850 or Executive Order 13884 given Nynas’s 50% indirect ownership by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PdVSA”).
The Australian Federal Court has made orders relieving the administrators of retailer Colette from personal liability for rent in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current uncertainty in respect of government policy about rent relief for tenants: see
What you need to know
In re Markus, 607 B.R. 379 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2019) [click for opinion]