Executive Summary

Over the past several years, unitranche facilities have become increasingly prevalent. This growth has been driven by the ever-growing class of private credit and direct lenders who initially developed the unitranche facility structure, along with traditional bank lenders now joining this market. The unitranche structure has several advantages, including typically quicker execution for the parties involved and in some cases a lower cost of capital to the borrower.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Code) provides the right to a financial creditor to make an application to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against a corporate debtor in the event the debtor fails to repay its debt owed to the creditor. The Code as well as precedents developed by insolvency courts have consistently held that the test for admission of an insolvency application of a financial creditor is twofold, existence of a debt and default on that debt.

Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer, has filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and plans to conduct liquidation sales and close all of its brick-and-mortar stores by June 30, as reported by The New York Times. The retailer points to an inability to adjust to the growth of online shopping as a reason for its downfall.

Introduction

On February 13, 2023, Ultra Petroleum Corporation (“Ultra”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s October 2022 ruling that, in solvent-debtor cases, debtors must pay unsecured creditors applicable contractual make-whole premiums and postpetition interest at contractual default rates in order for such unsecured creditors to be considered unimpaired.

What’s an ABC? If you ask ChatGPT, “ABC” is an acronym that can have multiple meanings, depending on the context—for example, referring to the alphabet. But here we are talking about a type of business liquidation process in the United States known as an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”). An ABC is governed by state law and has long been viewed as an alternative to a liquidation under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

Introduction

IBBIによる管財人の報酬体系規定

2016年破産倒産法の下、管財人または暫定管財人（総称してRP）は、企業債務者の事業を継続企業として運営し、企業倒産解決プロセス（CIRP）を実施する責任を負います。また、RPは、CIRP が期限内に実施され、企業債務者の資産価値が最大化されるように努める必要があります。

2016年破産倒産法の下では、企業債務者が債務の弁済ができない場合、倒産処理手続き（CIRP）が開始され、再建計画の募集により企業債務者の再生を試みます。その後、当該再生手続が失敗に終わった場合、企業債務者は清算されることになります。法は、CIRPにおいては「管財人」が企業債務者の再生と再構築に取り組み、これが失敗した場合に、清算人が企業債務者の支配者となり、企業債務者の資産を売却してその収益を分配し、解散を申請する、と定めています。清算人は、管財人は異なるいくつかの特別な権限を有しています。

R.K. Industries (Unit-II) LLP v. HR Commercials Pvt. Ltd.（R.K. Industries Case）において、最高裁判所は、企業債務者の資産の売却方法に関する清算人の商業的英断は、倒産裁判所の限定的な司法審査の対象となることを明確にしました。

Brief facts - 概要