Weil's Appellate & Strategic Counseling group welcomes you to Weil's SCOTUS Term Review. Here, we summarize and analyze the cases from the 2023 Supreme Court Term that are most germane to our clients' businesses.

浅析新形势下上市公司并购重组方向与路径——以上市公司在子公司融资后实施并购重组之案例为视角

引言

2024年3月15日，中国证券监督管理委员会（以下简称“证监会”）发布《关于加强上市公司监管的意见（试行）》，明确“支持上市公司通过并购重组提升投资价值”，鼓励“上市公司综合运用各类工具提升对长期投资的吸引力，积极吸引长期机构投资者”，并提出“多措并举活跃并购重组市场，鼓励上市公司综合运用股份、现金、定向可转债等工具实施并购重组、注入优质资产”。

2024年4月12日，国务院发布《关于加强监管防范风险推动资本市场高质量发展的若干意见》，原则性提出“严把发行上市准入关”“严格上市公司持续监管”“大力推动中长期资金入市，持续壮大长期投资力量”等指导意见，进一步提高IPO标准，严格再融资审核把关，鼓励上市公司聚焦主业，综合运用并购重组、股权激励等方式提高发展质量，倡导长期资金入市，鼓励长期资金投资。

The Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 has been commenced with effect from 1 July 2024.

On 1 July 2024, the Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 was commenced in full and is now law.

In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize bankruptcy courts to confirm a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan that discharges creditors’ claims against third parties without the consent of the affected claimants. The decision rejects the bankruptcy plan of Purdue Pharma, which had released members of the Sackler family from liability for their role in the opioid crisis. Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority decision. Justice Kavanaugh dissented, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kagan and Sotomayor.

ACT WHICH ENHANCES PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY INSOLVENCY NOW LAW

The Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 has been signed into law. The Act, once commenced, will amend the existing collective redundancy regime in insolvency situations and will deliver on key Programme for Government commitments detailed in the Plan of Action – Collective Redundancies following Insolvency.

Background

Today, in Office of the United States Trustee v. John Q Hammons Fall 2006, LLC, the Supreme Court held that debtors who paid fees in bankruptcy cases administered by the U.S. Trustee Program are not entitled to any relief, even though the Court previously ruled that those debtors had been unconstitutionally overcharged. This decision is the culmination of several years of litigation concerning differential fee structures across judicial districts.

2024年4月，国务院印发了《关于加强监管防范风险推动资本市场高质量发展的若干意见》，明确加大并购重组改革力度，多措并举活跃并购重组市场。资本市场中产业链并购以及跨界并购已然成为上市公司实现产业整合、市场扩张的重要途径之一。本文拟从上市公司重大资产重组角度出发，对可能影响上市公司重大资产重组成功的事项予以探讨。

一、上市公司重大资产重组的界定

上市公司重大资产重组是指上市公司及其控股或者控制的公司在日常经营活动之外的购买、出售资产或者通过其他方式进行资产交易达到规定的标准，导致上市公司的主营业务、资产、收入发生重大变化的资产交易行为。其中资产交易的方式，除了购买、出售资产外，还包括与他人新设企业、对已设立的企业增资或者减资；受托经营、租赁其他企业资产或者将经营性资产委托他人经营、租赁；接受附义务的资产赠与或者对外捐赠资产等。上市公司通常对购买、出售资产是否构成重大资产重组较为熟悉，在与他人新设企业、对已设立的企业增资、受托经营、租赁其他企业资产行为中是否构成重大资产重组问题，因市场案例相对较少，故较为陌生。笔者理解其核心还是在于是否实质构成购买、出售资产的判断。

This morning, the Supreme Court decided Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., which clarifies that any party with a "direct financial stake in the outcome" of a reorganization has standing as a "party in interest" to object to a Chapter 11 plan. 11 U.S.C. 1109(b). Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Sotomayor held that the debtor's insurer has standing to object even if the plan purports to preserve the insurer's legal rights and thus is said to be "insurance neutral."