The Situation: In the past few weeks, due to the severe impact of the COVID-19 crisis on non-essential businesses forced to close and terminate employees after filing for chapter 11 protection, bankruptcy courts have been confronted with requests by debtors to temporarily suspend their bankruptcy cases using the courts' equitable powers and a seldom-used provision of the Bankruptcy Code: 11 U.S.C. § 305(a).
Hogan Lovells Publications | 20 April 2020
An outlook: the rise of distressed infra M&A
The current economic downturn is expected to bring about a growing niche of investment opportunities in distressed infrastructure and energy assets and businesses.
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.
In a recent decision, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the rejection by a licensor of a trademark license stripped the licensee of its right to use the trademark post-rejection, reversing a decision by the intermediate bankruptcy appellate panel (BAP) and reinstating the bankruptcy court’s original judgment. In re Tempnology, LLC, 2018 WL 387621 (1st Cir. Jan. 12, 2018), reversing in part 559 B.R. 809 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. 2016). The First Circuit did, however, affirm that the rejection stripped the licensee's exclusive product distribution rights.
We have previously written about the effects of COVID-19 on the way we currently work, as well as how businesses need to adapt to protect their trade secrets, customer goodwill, and other interests. In ordinary times, emergency injunctive relief is often the first resort for a business after discovering its trade secrets were stolen or customer relationships are at risk.
As COVID-19 related economic disruptions place unprecedented stress on cash flows, the risk of insolvency is a new and growing concern for many businesses. Against the backdrop of a decades-long growth in corporate debt, boards of directors are making decisions that have the potential for pitting the interests of creditors against the interests of equity shareholders.
International Trade Compliance (Covering Customs and Other Import Requirements, Export Controls and Sanctions, Trade Remedies, WTO and Anti-Corruption) In This Issue: World Trade Organization (WTO) World Customs Organization (WCO) Other International Matters The Americas - Central America The Americas - North America The Americas - South America Asia-Pacific Europe and Middle East Africa Trade compliance enforcement actions - import, export, IPR, FCPA Newsletters, reports, articles, etc. Webinars, Meetings, Seminars, etc.
Argentina
The long-running dispute continues between Argentina, which defaulted on its sovereign debt for the second time in July 2014, and holdout bondholders from two previous debt restructurings.
In a historic decision with the potential to end 15 years of litigation between the Republic of Argentina and holdout bondholders from the financially strapped South American nation’s 2005 and 2010 sovereign debt restructurings, Judge Thomas Griesa of the U.S.
The Republic of Argentina returned to global debt markets after a 15-year absence on April 19, 2016, when it sold $16 billion in bonds to fund a series of landmark settlements reached earlier this year with holdout bondholders from the South American nation’s 2005 and 2010 debt restructurings. This latest development in the more than decade-long battle between Argentina and the holdouts—led by hedge funds Aurelius Capital Master Ltd. (“Aurelius”) and NML Capital Ltd.