A bedrock principle underlying chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is that creditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders should be provided with adequate information to make an informed decision to either accept or reject a chapter 11 plan. For this reason, the Bankruptcy Code provides that any "solicitation" of votes for or against a plan must be preceded or accompanied by stakeholders' receipt of a "disclosure statement" approved by the bankruptcy court explaining the background of the case as well as the key provisions of the chapter 11 plan.
债务重组作为困境企业的有效救济路径,本质是债权人与债务人通过制定债务重组方案的方式,就债权债务重新做出安排。而在实践中,债务重组方案的执行情况往往是由方案本身的可行性、方案执行过程中的管理与实时协调、方案实施的弹性空间等多个方面决定的。本文将从这几个方面作简要分析,提出一定思考与借鉴。
一、关于债务重组
现阶段,国内尚未建立起完整的调整企业债务重组行为的法律规范,对于“债务重组”的释义,主要出现在会计及税务层面。根据《企业会计准则第12号——债务重组》的相关规定,债务重组是指在不改变交易对手方的情况下,经债权人和债务人协定或法院裁定,就清偿债务的时间、金额或方式等重新达成协议的交易。而根据《关于企业重组业务企业所得税处理若干问题的通知》(财税〔2009年〕59号)规定,债务重组是在债务人发生财务困难的情况下,债权人按照其与债务人达成的书面协议或者法院裁定书,就其对债务人的债务做出让步,通过重组以优化企业资产质量,从而实现资产价值的提升并获得收益的行为。
In Short
The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court considered whether § 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code, which limits a party's ability to undo an asset transfer made to a good-faith purchaser in a bankruptcy case, is jurisdictional.
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to assume, assume and assign, or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases is an important tool designed to promote a "fresh start" for debtors and to maximize the value of the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of all stakeholders. However, the Bankruptcy Code establishes strict requirements for the assumption or assignment of contracts and leases.
Madoff
On April 19, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a landmark 2019 decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the applicability of the Bankruptcy Code's safe harbor for certain securities, commodity, or forward contract payments to prevent the avoidance in bankruptcy of $8.3 billion in payments made to the shareholders of Tribune Co. as part of its 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO").
On October 26, 2020, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a long-awaited ruling on whether natural gas exploration and production company Ultra Petroleum Corp. ("UPC") must pay a make-whole premium to noteholders under its confirmed chapter 11 plan and whether the noteholders are entitled to postpetition interest on their claims pursuant to the "solvent-debtor exception." On remand from the U.S.
Introduction
Priority of Income Tax Claims
Affirmative Insurance
The Bankruptcy Court's Ruling
The District Court's Ruling
Outlook
In the latest chapter of more than a decade of contentious litigation surrounding the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") and ensuing bankruptcy of media conglomerate Tribune Co. ("Tribune"), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed lower court rulings that Tribune's 2012 chapter 11 plan did not unfairly discriminate against senior noteholders who contended that their distributions were reduced because the plan improperly failed to strictly enforce pre-bankruptcy subordination agreements. In In re Tribune Co., 972 F.3d 228 (3d Cir.
A basic tenet of bankruptcy law, premised on the legal separateness of a debtor prior to filing for bankruptcy and the estate created upon a bankruptcy filing, is that prepetition debts are generally treated differently than debts incurred by the estate, which are generally treated as priority administrative expenses. However, this seemingly straightforward principle is sometimes difficult to apply in cases where a debt technically "arose" or "was incurred" prepetition, but does not become payable until sometime during the bankruptcy case.