Government draft of law implements EU Restructuring Framework, and introduces new restructuring instruments.
The German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection has recently presented the longawaited draft bill to introduce a new pre-insolvency business stabilization and restructuring regime into German law.1 The availability of this ground-breaking new "German Scheme" will significantly change the German restructuring landscape and elevate it to an internationally competitive level.
On Monday 14th September 2020, Mrs Justice Falk issued her reasoned judgment, in respect of the application by Codere Finance 2 (UK) Limited (the "Company") to convene a single class of its creditors to consider and vote on a proposed scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 ( the "Scheme").
In a hearing spanning three days, the High Court of England and Wales addressed multiple grounds of challenge from a dissenting noteholder but nonetheless granted the Company's request to convene a single meeting of its scheme creditors.
Background
Successfully executing an acquisition from stress, distress, or insolvency requires a creative approach to reconcile competing interests.
1. Background: Temporary Modification of the German Insolvency Regime to avoid COVID-19-related Insolvencies in Germany expires on 30 September 2020
July Bankruptcy and Restructuring Developments
On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (the “CIGA”) entered into force. We summarised the key terms of the proposed legislation in our previous client alert (link to previous alert).
As a result of the legal amendments on German tenancy law that were passed in March 2020 in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords are not allowed to terminate lease agreements for default of rental payments occurring in the period from April 1 to June 30, 2020, until June 30, 2022, if those defaults result from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six key takeaways for COVID-19 Restructurings and Antitrust
On 3 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill was debated by the Committee of the Whole House of Commons. This follows on from the first reading in the House of Commons on 20 May 2020. This is the bill which enacts many of the measures referenced in the government's announcements earlier this year.