Recently, the English High Court considered¹ how to interpret a material adverse change (“MAC”) clause which is a provision that routinely appears, in various forms, in loan agreements but on which there is limited case law. The court found in this case that there had been no MAC in the financial condition of a borrower.

Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to provide an effective mechanism to aid insolvency proceedings in foreign countries that involve a foreign debtor with assets, creditors and other parties in interest located in the foreign country as well as in United States. A foreign representative that is authorized to administer the foreign reorganization or liquidation or act as a representative of the foreign proceeding is the party who applies to the US bankruptcy court for recognition of the foreign proceeding.

New criteria set out by the Bank of Spain will have a binding nature for supervised financial entities

Introduction

On 30 April 2013 the supervisory body of the Bank of Spain sent a formal communication to the financial entities subject to its supervision containing the criteria to be used with regard to the definition, documentation, follow-up and review of credit refinancing and restructuring transactions (the Communication).

On May 10, 2013, Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware rejected an attempt to hold a private equity sponsor liable for its portfolio company’s alleged violations of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “WARN Act”) under the “single employer” theory of liability.

Eurosail’s journey has come to an end: the Supreme Court rejects the “point of no return” test, returns to balance sheet basics.

John Houghton, European Head of Restructuring and Co-Global Chair of Bankruptcy and Restructuring remarks:

On April 22, 2013, Judge Kevin J. Carey of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware allowed a lender’s $23.7 million pre-petition make-whole claim, representing approximately 37% of the outstanding principal of the loan, in the Chapter 11 case of School Specialty, Inc. ¹ In a decision that will win cheers from the lending community, the court enforced the clear terms of the loan agreement over the objection of the Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee, holding that the make-whole claim was enforceable under New York law.

BACKGROUND

Companies with certain specific connections to Hong Kong are increasingly likely to fall under Hong Kong jurisdiction and Hong Kong’s Companies Ordinance. Both creditors and debtors will benefit from the clarity provided by the recent judgment in the case Re Pioneer Iron and Steel Group. Hong Kong’s Companies Ordinance expressly provides for the possibility of petitioning to liquidate, or wind-up, companies incorporated outside of Hong Kong.

On April 1, 2013, Judge Christopher Klein, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, ruled that the City of Stockton, California, could proceed with its chapter 9 bankruptcy filing. Judge Klein’s decision affirmed Stockton’s status as the largest US city (population 300,000) to have successfully sought bankruptcy protection and proceed with bankruptcy.1 Judge Klein’s comments on the record may also signal that the resolution of Stockton’s chapter 9 will require the impairment of the city’s pension obligations.

On January 31, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed the debtors’ proposed plan of reorganization in In re Indianapolis Downs, LLC,¹ declining to “designate” or disallow the votes of several substantial creditors that had entered into a plan support or “lockup” agreement with the debtors after the bankruptcy filing. In a written decision,² the Bankruptcy Court provided important guidance concerning the permissibility of post-petition plan support agreements entered into before the court approves a disclosure statement.

On January 31, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware issued an opinion that approved the confirmation of the proposed plan in In re Indianapolis Downs, LLC.