The Singapore International Commercial Court (the "SICC"), a division of the General Division of the High Court and part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, was established in 2015 as a trusted neutral forum to meet increasing demand for effective transnational dispute resolution. It recently considered, as a matter of first impression for the SICC, whether to approve a prepackaged scheme of arrangement for a group of Vietnam-based real estate investment companies under Singapore's recently enacted Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (the "IRDA").

As the enactment of chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code approaches its 20-year anniversary, U.S. bankruptcy courts are still grappling with some unresolved issues concerning how its provisions should be applied to best harmonize cross-border bankruptcy cases. One of those issues was the subject of a bench ruling handed down by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down three bankruptcy rulings to finish the Term ended in July 2024. The decisions address the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in chapter 11 plans, the standing of insurance companies to object to "insurance neutral" chapter 11 plans, and the remedy for overpayment of administrative fees in chapter 11 cases to the Office of the U.S. Trustee. We discuss each of them below.

U.S. Supreme Court Bars Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases in Chapter 11 Plans

Courts disagree over whether a foreign bankruptcy case can be recognized under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code if the foreign debtor does not reside or have assets or a place of business in the United States. In 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit staked out its position on this issue in Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund LP v. Barnet (In re Barnet), 737 F.3d 238 (2d Cir. 2013), ruling that the provision of the Bankruptcy Code requiring U.S. residency, assets, or a place of business applies in chapter 15 cases as well as cases filed under other chapters.

The Bankruptcy Code bars certain individuals or entities from filing for bankruptcy protection, generally because they do not reside or have a place of business or property in the United States, fail to satisfy certain debt thresholds, or are business entities, such as banks and insurance companies, subject to non-bankruptcy rules or regulations governing their rehabilitation or liquidation.

Determining a foreign debtor's "center of main interests" ("COMI") for purposes of recognizing a foreign bankruptcy proceeding in the United States under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code can be problematic in cases involving multiple debtors that are members of an enterprise group doing business in several different countries. The U.S.

On January 23, 2024, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales (the "Appeal Court") upheld a challenge launched by dissenting creditors to overturn the UK Restructuring Plan (the "RP") of the Adler Group previously approved by the High Court under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Value Capital Solutions Master Fund LP and others v AGPS BondCo PLC [2024] EWCA Civ 24).

企业发生债务危机拟进行债务重组时，企业的客观情况，包括但不限于企业集团的构成、资产、负债、业务经营等等，是企业自身选定重组方向制定重组方案、政府机关判断企业有无救助价值、债权人判断重组方案是否可行、投资人研判企业有无投资价值及具体投资方向的基本依据，故全面、及时地尽职调查对危机企业极有必要。然而应当注意的是，基于债务重组为目的的尽职调查与传统的收并购、IPO、债权融资等业务所涉尽职调查在尽调的对象、内容、方法等方面存在区别，应基于尽职调查的目的有针对性地设计尽调方案，进而获取对使用人有价值的尽调结果。本文拟对债务重组场景下“尽职调查”的目的、分类、尽调的主要内容及方法、以及尽调中的注意事项进行分析论述。

一、庭外债务重组尽职调查目的概述

尽职调查的目的是指导如何设计尽调方案、采取何种尽调方法、如何进行尽调结果披露的基础。举例来说，在股权收购项目中，收购方需对目标企业进行尽职调查，其目的是了解企业是否具备投资价值、并尽可能的发现可能对投资人收益产生影响的潜在风险；在资产收购项目中，收购方需对收购标的进行尽职调查，其目的是了解资产的客观状态及法律状态，确定收购资产的客观现状、法律权属、法律瑕疵等；而在庭外债务重组中，尽职调查的主要目的是了解企业的客观现状，以便确定如何化解其债务危机问题。

In Short

目前庭外债务重组的表决程序尚没有明确的强制性规定，其实质是债权人和债务人之间的协商合意，在债务人与债权人“单对单”的重组场景下，由债务人和债权人协商重组条件、签署重组文件，相关重组文件可以发生对债务人和债权人的约束。但在大型企业整体债务重组中，涉及较多的债务重组主体和数量较多的债权人。在各债权人存在不同诉求的情况下，可能无法达到百分之百债权人同意方案、签署重组协议，故如何高效、快速地完成整体重组方案的表决，以及表决通过的重组方案对投弃权票甚至明确反对的债权人是否有约束力，是债务重组实践中债务人和债权人均会关心且经常面临的实际问题。

一、庭外债务重组方案表决的程序探讨

（一）重组方案的表决程序概述