近年来,由于经济形势下行叠加新冠疫情,众多企业陷入经营困难和债务危机,庭外债务重组因具有较高的灵活性、自主性,不受时间和程序上的限制,成为化解企业债务危机的重要方式,而敏感债权因其涉众性成为庭外债务重组程序中的棘手问题。敏感债权往往与非法集资有着千丝万缕的联系,本文将从庭外重组中涉非(涉嫌非法集资)敏感债权处置角度出发,具体分析敏感债权处置方案中的重点法律问题,以及律师在涉非敏感债权处置中的作用。
一、敏感债权的概念与特征
(一)敏感债权的概念
正如庭外重组一样,对于敏感债权,法律尚未给出明确的定义。结合过往庭外重组等债务风险处置案例,可以将敏感债权理解为:因涉及众多自然人债权人,可能涉嫌非法集资,而需要在债务处置中特别考虑的债权,主要包括涉及个人的理财产品和民间集资。
(二)敏感债权的特征
敏感债权的主要特点如下:
1. 债权人一般为自然人,且人数众多,具有涉众性特点。敏感债权一般涉及众多自然人债权人,这类群体抗风险能力一般较差,企业债务危机爆发后,如果无法及时清偿敏感债权,可能诱发群体性事件,影响社会稳定。
1. State of the Restructuring Market
1.1 Market Trends and Changes
State of the Restructuring and Insolvency Market
There were 27,359 insolvencies in France as of the end of September 2021, down 25.1% from the same period in 2020, and down 47.9% from September 2019. Such reduction is relatively stable across all sectors, including those most severely affected by the health-related restrictions, such as accommodation and food services (down 44.2% year-on-year) and trade (down 28.1% year on year).
Fewer Insolvencies for More Opportunities
At the end of 2021, corporate bankruptcies (for most company sizes and in most sectors) were at their lowest level compared to the pre-COVID-19 figures from 2019, with a 50% drop in insolvency proceedings and a 10% decrease in pre-insolvency situations. This was largely due to the temporary impact of government emergency measures and support, including:
Beauty Brands, LLC, along with two subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 19-10031).
Angel Medical Systems, Inc., a developer of medical devices based in Eatontown, NJ, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-12903).
Alcor Energy, LLC filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-12839).
White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LP, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12808).
Checkout Holding Corp. (dba Catalina Marketing), along with ten affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12794).
interTouch Holdings LLC and its affiliate, interTouch TopCo LLC, have both filed petitions for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12772).
Argos Therapeutics, Inc. (f/k/a Merix Bioscience, Inc.) has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-12714).