On 26 May 2020, the Dutch Parliament’s House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) adopted the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord (“WHOA”)). The next step will see the WHOA put to vote in the Senate.

In a recent case, the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden dismissed a claim of the bankruptcy trustee of Welsec against an audit firm for failing to ensure that the audited company, Welsec, included a provision in its annual accounts for a third party claim (ECLI:NL:GHARL:2020:2492).

*Fried Frank published a memorandum titled COVID-19 Pandemic: Key UK Government and Bank of England Initiatives to Support Businesses on March 30, 2020 ("March 30 Memorandum") and published an update to the March 30 Memorandum on April 15, 2020 (the "April 15 Update"). In light of the rapidly developing situation and government response, the April 15 Update has been further updated to include the latest guidance provided by the UK Government, in particular as to employment retention initiatives and loan schemes, and is current as of May 12, 2020.

* On March 30, 2020, Fried Frank published a memorandum titled COVID-19 Pandemic: Key UK Government and Bank of England Initiatives to Support Businesses ("March 30 Memorandum"). In light of the rapidly developing situation and government response, the March 30 Memorandum has been updated to include the latest guidance provided by the UK Government, in particular as to employment retention initiatives and loan schemes, and is current as of April 15, 2020.

In Germany, as in many other countries, a number of laws have been passed in order to respond to the economic challenges in connection with the Covid-19 crisis. This memorandum provides a brief summary and overview focusing on the most relevant changes to the legal landscape.

I. Financial Support

As markets react to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the trading prices of loans and notes have declined. In light of these developments, borrowers and their affiliates, including private equity sponsors, are considering whether to buy back outstanding debt at a discount. In analyzing the potential benefits and drawbacks of pursuing debt repurchases, borrowers and private equity sponsors should consider the following:

Outstanding Debt Documents

To Our Clients and Friends Memorandum March 30, 2020 Copyright © 2020 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP A Delaware Limited Liability Partnership 1 COVID-19 Pandemic: Key UK Government and Bank of England Initiatives to Support Businesses * In light of the rapidly developing situation and government response, this memorandum is current as of March 29, 2020. The rapid transmission of COVID-19 around the world has had a transformative impact on economies, politics and societies. Europe and the United States, in particular, have now emerged as epicentres of the pandemic.

With businesses focused on the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on current and future liquidity, balance sheet and cash flow concerns, and an expected decline in the level and profitability of business activity in these difficult and uncertain times, in many cases attention has turned to the issue of the duties and responsibilities of directors to creditors when a corporation is financially troubled and is either approaching insolvency (the so-called “zone of insolvency”) or becomes insolvent.

The Coronavirus pandemic, while primarily a public health issue, is creating numerous legal concerns. We have identified some of the key issues and developments below. In addition, we have formed a task force comprised of partners and senior lawyers from across all practice groups and offices to track developments and provide timely guidance to clients on Coronavirus-related issues.

M&A

As mentioned in our earlier blog, the Dutch legislator has prepared a bill – the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) – which introduces a framework allowing debtors to restructure their debts outside formal insolvency proceedings (the “Dutch Scheme“).