On April 12, 2021, Automotores Gildemeister SpA of Santiago, Chile filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 21-10685) along with several affiliates. The corporate minutes accompanying the petition indicate that the company contemplates a prepackaged chapter 11 filing.

Following the end of the flexibilities afforded by The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) in relation to the conduct of general meetings and following the publication of guidance by The Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA) we have reviewed notices of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) to be held after 30 March 2021. We set out some common themes around how companies are organising their AGMs in light of the guidance issued and the current restrictions in place.

Late on April 5, 2021, TECT Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc., along with certain affiliates that manufacture high precision components and assemblies for the aerospace industry, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-10670).

On April 5, 2021, The Collected Group, LLC, along with certain affiliates that design, distribute, and retail three contemporary, consumer-inspired, apparel lifestyle brands: Joie, Equipment, and Current/Elliott, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-10663).

On March 30, 2021, Houston-based retail power provider Entrust Energy, Inc., filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 21-31070). The company reports $100 to $500 million in assets and $50 to $100 million in liabilities.

On March 29, 2021, AeroCentury Corp., a Calif.-based publicly traded aircraft operating lessor and finance company specializing in leasing regional aircraft and engines to regional airlines and commercial users in 15 countries, announced it and certain of its subsidiaries filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-10636).

European Real Estate Finance: Market Update – Q1 2021 March 2021 Authors: Jeffrey Rubinoff, Dr. Thomas Flatten, Thierry Bosly, Hadrien Servais, Carl Hugo Parment, Fernando Navarro, Christophe Goossens, Julio Peralta, Angel Calleja, Aurélie Terlinden, Alexandra Stolt, Amitaben Patel & Brendon Vyas Further information on the response to COVID-19 can be found here, and we also have a German-language article, available here, looking at the impact on commercial leases. LIBOR Discontinuation Much has happened in the world of LIBOR Discontinuation since our last update.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia overhauled its corporate insolvency framework in 2018 with the introduction of a new bankruptcy law. In this client alert we examine the new Bankruptcy law in detail.

Executive Summary

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a wave of creditor schemes of arrangement ("schemes") and restructuring plans ("RPs") in the second half of 2020, which shows no sign of abating in 2021. For the uninitiated, the scheme (a long-established tool) and the newer RP process are court led UK restructuring options that a company can use to bind a minority of creditors into a restructuring. An RP can also be used to "cram down" an entire dissenting creditor class into a deal where certain conditions are met.

In 2020, commercial chapter 11 bankruptcy filings climbed to their highest levels in recent years, as COVID-19 disruption sparked sharp declines in GDP and volatile stock market swings. Notably, the pandemic accelerated the restructurings of some companies that were already on the precipice of financial distress, particularly in the retail, energy, travel and hospitality sectors.