When one party can unilaterally prevent a bankruptcy filing – action steps and best practices

Commodities Alert

Restructuring Alert

Volatile commodity prices in 2020 led to the bankruptcy of many oil and gas producers. While some analysts expect oil and gas prices to rise during 2021, the US Energy Information Administration’s 2021 annual outlook advises that a return to 2019 levels of US energy consumption will take years.[2]

Long-awaited law reform to bring Australia's insolvency regime into step with many of its trading counterparts is slated to be enacted in the second half of 2017. The text of the law is currently before parliament for debate. If passed, Australia will see:

The Australian government has released draft legislation which proposes significant legislative change to insolvency laws in Australia. One of the changes proposed, is that directors will not be liable for insolvent trading in certain circumstances where the company is undertaking a restructure.

Under the proposed safe harbour reform, directors will not be liable for debts incurred whilst the company is insolvent if they can show that:

The increase in the availability of alternate capital in Australia over the past decade has provided a landscape for well-tested global restructuring techniques to be applied locally. This includes 'loan to own' strategies.