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The German Federal Government is currently working on a Law for the Mitigation of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of Insolvency, Corporate, Civil and Criminal Procedure Law. Ministry officials are working through the weekend with the goal to get the legislation finalized by both chambers of parliament as early as possible next week.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has widespread and significant implications for the financing situation of companies. Mandatory emergency measures, such as closure orders, have cut off entire sectors from revenue and cash flows with severe consequences for corporate liquidity. In addition, deteriorating market conditions are putting additional pressure on companies and their ability to service their debt.

En 2019, les tribunaux canadiens, dont la Cour suprême du Canada, ont rendu un certain nombre de décisions qui présentent un intérêt pour les prêteurs commerciaux et les spécialistes des dossiers de restructuration. Le présent article propose, pour chacune de ces affaires, un résumé des enjeux d’importance.

Yesterday the UK Insolvency Service released their quarterly statistics spanning October to December 2019. These confirm that liquidations and administrations in 2019 hit levels not seen for over five years. This signals a potentially serious underlying concern about the UK economy.

In 2019, a number of judicial decisions were rendered across Canada, including by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), that will be of interest to commercial lenders and restructuring professionals. This article summarizes the core issues of importance in each of these cases.

In 2019, a number of judicial decisions were rendered across Canada, including by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), that will be of interest to commercial lenders and restructuring professionals. This article summarizes the core issues of importance in each of these cases.

Chinese firms acquiring foreign assets has been a hot topic for some time. But one often overlooked question is what happens to those overseas assets if the Chinese business fails? Given the scale of Chinese investment overseas and the financial problems currently being experienced by many Mainland businesses, this question is of growing importance. Two recent decisions – one in Hong Kong and one in New York – address this issue and point to the growing demystification and recognition of Chinese insolvency law outside China.

What is the preventive restructuring framework and what are its key features?

Where there is a likelihood of insolvency (but importantly where the debtor is not yet insolvent as defined by national law), Member States must provide debtors with access to a preventive restructuring framework that enables them to restructure, with a view to preventing insolvency and ensuring their viability.

In October 2019, syncreon Group Holdings B.V. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the syncreon Group) completed a landmark cross-border balance sheet restructuring of approximately US$1.1-billion of debt. The syncreon Group’s restructuring is believed to be the first time that English scheme of arrangement proceedings have been used to restructure debt issued by a U.S.-based multinational enterprise (Scheme Proceedings).

On November 1, 2019, certain amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) will come into force and have potentially far-reaching implications on the way in which restructuring and liquidation proceedings under those statutes are conducted.

As described in further detail below, the amendments: