The UK High Court has considered and granted permission for a so called “credit bid” in an application by the Special Administrators of Sova Capital Ltd (in special administration) for a substantial portfolio of illiquid Russian securities. The transaction structure, involving the transfer of securities in exchange for the release of a £233m claim against the estate, is unprecedented in the UK where ‘credit bidding’ has no technical recognition.

Der BGH hat mit Entscheidung vom 27. Oktober 2022 (IX ZR 145/21) eine langwährende, insolvenzrechtliche Streitigkeit entschieden. In seiner Entscheidung nahm der BGH an, dass sich das Verwertungsrecht des Insolvenzverwalters nach § 166 InsO nicht auf sonstige Rechte erstreckt. Dies legt einen lange bestehenden und intensiv geführten Streit bei, ob sich das Verwertungsrecht neben beweglichen Sachen im Besitz des Verwalters und abgetretenen Forderungen auch auf sonstige Rechte wie insbesondere verpfändete Gesellschaftsanteile oder abgetretene oder verpfändete IP-Rechte erstreckt.

In its decision of October 27, 2022 (IX ZR 145/21), the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on a long-running dispute under German insolvency law. In its decision, the Court assumed that the insolvency administrator's right of realization under section 166 German Insolvency Code (InsO) does not extend to other rights.

In den letzten Wochen haben in Deutschland zwei größere Betreiber der stationären Pflege und von betreutem Wohnen Insolvenz angemeldet. Auch wenn dies aus unserer Sicht nur Einzelfälle sind und kein Krankheitssyndrom der Pflegebranche darstellt, geben diese Fälle Anlass für eine kurze rechtliche Orientierung wie sich solche Insolvenzen auf alle Leistungsbeziehungen auswirken.

Auswirkungen auf Miet- und Pachtverhältnisse

The latest insolvency statistics in the UK make for grim reading. Per the government’s official assessment, 1,964 corporate insolvencies took place in December 2022, 32% higher than in the same month in the previous year and 76% higher than the number registered three years previously pre-pandemic. With inflation and energy costs remaining high and government support rolling back, companies will be taking whatever steps they can to remain in business.

Although the IMF recently announced at Davos that it would upgrade its global economic forecasts, with an improvement predicted in the later part of 2023 and into 2024, times remain difficult for many companies and their lenders – and are likely to remain so for a while yet.

The High Court has, for the first time, used the cross-class cram down mechanism when sanctioning a restructuring plan proposed under Part 26A Companies Act 2006.

Further to sanction of the DeepOcean restructuring plans on 13 January 2021, on 28 January 2021 Mr Justice Trower (Trower, J) handed down his judgment setting out why – for the first time – the court had exercised its discretion to sanction a restructuring plan in the face of a dissenting class of creditors.

In Re Unity Group Holdings International Ltd [2022] HKCFI 3419, the Hong Kong court has for the first time sanctioned a scheme of arrangement that releases debts of third-party obligors that were guaranteed by the scheme company without requiring a deed of contribution. The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris deviated from the English law approach and ruled that a deed of contribution will no longer be necessary for the release of a principal obligor's liability that has been guaranteed by the scheme company.

A going concern

FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange at one point, but came crashing down to earth in 2022 and filed for bankruptcy in the US on 11 November. The platform’s downfall has reignited the debate around the regulation of cryptocurrencies globally and in specific jurisdictions. Marc Jones considers the arguments here.