You know, there’s never a dull moment when one reports on the regulatory states’ endless and so often fruitless and wrong-headed tinkering with the global economy. So now… let’s talk bail-in.
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation,1 represents a significant victory for shareholders who may get cashed out in connection with a leveraged transaction that precedes a company bankruptcy.
SEC and FDIC Propose Dodd-Frank Broker-Dealer Resolution Rules
After the decision of the Privy Council in April 2014, the Fairfield Sentry saga continued recently with the new judgment of Justice Leon concerning the status of related US Bankruptcy Court proceedings.
Facts
Two recent court decisions may affect an equity sponsor’s options when deciding whether and how to put money into - or take money out of - a portfolio company. The first may expand the scope of “inequitable conduct” that, in certain Chapter 11 settings, could lead a court to equitably subordinate a loan made by a sponsor to its portfolio company, placing the loan behind all of the company’s other debt in the payment queue. The second decision muddies the waters of precedent under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on the issue of the avoidability of non-U.S.
Introduction
Although the wishes of the majority of creditors (whether in number or by value) is an important factor in many decisions made in insolvency proceedings, the court retains discretion regarding whether a company should be placed into liquidation.
Introduction
The British Virgin Islands' reputation as the leading offshore jurisdiction is well earned and it is dedicated to maintaining its status as a creditor-friendly and commercially flexible jurisdiction. The developments of 2015 are the latest example of its evolution as it continues to meet the needs of the global financial community. The following are the key developments to BVI law that are most likely to interest lenders and borrowers.
Introduction
Recently, the British Virgin Islands has seen a trend wherein debtors involved in winding-up proceedings have sought to identify what appear to be spurious disputes and then to rely on arbitration clauses in order to strike out or stay the winding-up proceedings. While this tactic could be regarded as capitalising on the wider global trend towards giving absolute primacy to arbitration agreements, it is often deployed to buy time for debtors and frustrate creditors that are legitimately seeking to wind up insolvent companies.
An overvalued property may now have a bigger impact on a secured creditor’s bottom-line during bankruptcy. Splitting with the Seventh Circuit, the Fifth Circuit in Southwest Securities, FSB v.
Two recent court decisions may result in a broadening of the range of options available to an equity sponsor in respect of an insolvent portfolio company. The first decision may provide increased flexibility in structuring asset sales in certain chapter 11 settings, by utilizing escrows and other techniques to potentially avoid the need to apply asset-sale proceeds strictly in accordance with creditor priorities under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.