Summary

In late August 2022, the Spanish Parliament passed the transposition into Spanish law of the Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of June 20th 2019, on Preventive Restructuring Frameworks. The draft of this new Act was subject to multiple amendments and created great local expectations (also considerable controversy). The text finally enacted in Law 16/2022 introduces major reforms in the insolvency field which we hereby depict.

Introduction of the so-called “Restructuring Plans”

The Spanish Parliament's extraordinary plenary session of August 25, 2022, has passed a law amending the recast Insolvency Act, which amendment will enter into force 20 days after it is published in Spain's Official State Gazette, the "BOE".

This new law, after suffering numerous amendments as a bill, establishes major changes in the area of insolvency, and it incorporates into the Spanish legal system the guidelines established by Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council, dated June 20, 2019, on preventive restructuring frameworks.

Credit bidding is a mechanism, enshrined in the US bankruptcy legislation, whereby a secured creditor can ‘bid’ the amount of its secured debt, as consideration for the purchase of the assets over which it holds security. In effect, it allows the secured creditor to offset the secured debt as payment for the assets and to take ownership of those assets without necessarily having to pay any cash for the purchase. Whilst there is no statutory equivalent in the UK, the process has evolved here into an accepted practice.

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).

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).