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企业发生债务危机拟进行债务重组时,企业的客观情况,包括但不限于企业集团的构成、资产、负债、业务经营等等,是企业自身选定重组方向制定重组方案、政府机关判断企业有无救助价值、债权人判断重组方案是否可行、投资人研判企业有无投资价值及具体投资方向的基本依据,故全面、及时地尽职调查对危机企业极有必要。然而应当注意的是,基于债务重组为目的的尽职调查与传统的收并购、IPO、债权融资等业务所涉尽职调查在尽调的对象、内容、方法等方面存在区别,应基于尽职调查的目的有针对性地设计尽调方案,进而获取对使用人有价值的尽调结果。本文拟对债务重组场景下“尽职调查”的目的、分类、尽调的主要内容及方法、以及尽调中的注意事项进行分析论述。

一、庭外债务重组尽职调查目的概述

尽职调查的目的是指导如何设计尽调方案、采取何种尽调方法、如何进行尽调结果披露的基础。举例来说,在股权收购项目中,收购方需对目标企业进行尽职调查,其目的是了解企业是否具备投资价值、并尽可能的发现可能对投资人收益产生影响的潜在风险;在资产收购项目中,收购方需对收购标的进行尽职调查,其目的是了解资产的客观状态及法律状态,确定收购资产的客观现状、法律权属、法律瑕疵等;而在庭外债务重组中,尽职调查的主要目的是了解企业的客观现状,以便确定如何化解其债务危机问题。

目前庭外债务重组的表决程序尚没有明确的强制性规定,其实质是债权人和债务人之间的协商合意,在债务人与债权人“单对单”的重组场景下,由债务人和债权人协商重组条件、签署重组文件,相关重组文件可以发生对债务人和债权人的约束。但在大型企业整体债务重组中,涉及较多的债务重组主体和数量较多的债权人。在各债权人存在不同诉求的情况下,可能无法达到百分之百债权人同意方案、签署重组协议,故如何高效、快速地完成整体重组方案的表决,以及表决通过的重组方案对投弃权票甚至明确反对的债权人是否有约束力,是债务重组实践中债务人和债权人均会关心且经常面临的实际问题。

一、庭外债务重组方案表决的程序探讨

(一)重组方案的表决程序概述

The High Court of Hong Kong refused to allow a Chapter 11 Trustee to disclose a Decision from Hong Kong winding up proceedings in the US bankruptcy court. The US proceedings were commenced to prevent a creditor from taking action following a breach of undertakings given to the Hong Kong court in circumstances where the company had no jurisdictional connection with the US.

Following our previous article, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal following the High Court deciding that a moratorium in relation to restructuring proceedings in Azerbaijan could not be extended in breach of the Gibbs rule, allowing two significant creditors to proceed with their claims in the English Courts.

Despite the debtor's contention that his primary residence was in the United States, the Court held that it had jurisdiction to make a Bankruptcy Order following a petition presented by HMRC.

HMRC presented a bankruptcy petition against Robert Stayton on 30 May 2014 who owed approximately £653,640. The matter came before the court on a number of occasions before the final hearing, with judgment being handed down in November 2018.

A discharged Bankrupt had intentionally misled the Court as to his COMI being in England and Wales in order to obtain a Bankruptcy Order. Four years after the making of the Bankruptcy Order, the Court annulled it on the grounds that the Court did not have jurisdiction to make the Order in the first place.

Ashfords successfully acted for the Joint Trustees in Bankruptcy of Vincent Mascarenhas (deceased) in their application to discharge Freezing Orders, an Interim Charging Order and an Interim Third Party Debt Order obtained by creditors of the late Bankrupt in 2014. The Joint Trustees were not a party to the original proceedings but had standing to make the applications.

The Hong Kong Court have confirmed for the first time that a foreign voluntary liquidation is eligible for common law recognition and assistance in Hong Kong.

China Culture Media International Holdings Limited, incorporated in the BVI, was wound up on 9 May 2016. China Culture was the sole shareholder of Supreme Tycoon Limited, also incorporated in the BVI.

In an urgent application, the Court of Appeal held that a CVA should be precluded from becoming effective where an unanticipated claim of €126.7m was submitted after the CVA was approved but before the statutory bar on new claims had lapsed.

The Agricultural Credits Act 1928 ("ACA 1928") enables a farmer to grant an Agricultural Charge to a bank over all his farming stock and other agricultural assets, but not the land he farms.

An Agricultural Charge can be a fixed charge, a floating charge or both. However, any assets obtained by the farmer after the creation of the Charge will only be subject to a floating charge. Only a registered deposit taking bank or the Bank of England can take an Agricultural Charge.

A floating charge is automatically converted to a fixed charge if: