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On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted, and President Trump signed into law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial relief to individuals and small business harmed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The CARES Act included an initial allocation of $349 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a convertible loan program under Section 7 of the Small Business Act (SBA).

Recent emergency motions from Modell’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (“Modell’s) and Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (“Pier 1”) to put their chapter 11 cases on ice may signal a growing trend. As the economic consequences of efforts to contain and respond to COVID-19 infections render deal-making difficult or impossible, what were the best-laid plans a few weeks ago often no longer make sense.

To assist businesses dealing with the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, on March 28, 2020, the UK government followed in the footsteps of countries including Spain, Germany and Australia and announced certain changes to UK insolvency law.

This article summarises the key changes the UK government is proposing to existing insolvency laws, and considers the key restructuring tools available to assist companies during this unprecedented and challenging time.

Wrongful Trading Suspension

Barely a month after Bankruptcy Code amendments providing a cheaper, more efficient path to chapter 11 relief for small businesses took effect under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (“SBRA”), Congress has nearly tripled the debt-eligibility threshold from roughly $2.7 to $7.5 million in response to economic fallout from the COVID-19 shutdown.

The outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 represents one of the most significant global public health crises in recent memory and is causing major disruption and unprecedented volatility in markets, economies and businesses. With such great social and economic uncertainty, it is inevitable that existing financial arrangements will be affected and asset-based lenders (ABLs) are not immune to this. They are, however, uniquely positioned – given the flexibility of the products they offer – to react to the ever-changing economic landscape.

The on-going impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could have a significant impact on your global supply and customer chains. We can assist in responding to such risks in the various jurisdictions in which you operate, source materials and/or supply products and services.

Please click here for further information on the key warning signs and early action points.

In the following, we provide an overview of government assistance that has already been implemented or is planned to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. The KfW Special Program is available as of March 23, 2020 and applications can be submitted. Please be advised that changes may occur at any time.

We are happy to assist you as you move forward and design a targeted and tailor-made reaction to the current challenges.

In response to the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), governments in many countries have issued emergency legislation to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on companies’ day-to-day operations. Since March 24, 2020, the Indian government has been announcing various measures aimed to ease corporate and tax compliance for companies doing business in India, as well as other measures pertaining to employment and bankruptcy matters. Below is a high-level overview of some of the most relevant aspects of these measures as they pertain to India subsidiaries of US companies.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, a number of government and central bank measures are available to businesses in Europe. Additionally, insolvency laws have been updated. Our guidance outlines what this means to businesses in 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and UK.

The outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 represents one of the most significant global public health crises in recent memory and is causing major disruption and unprecedented volatility in markets, economies and businesses. With such great social and economic uncertainty, it is inevitable that existing financial arrangements will be affected and asset-based lenders (ABLs) are not immune to this. They are, however, uniquely positioned – given the flexibility of the products they offer – to react to the ever-changing economic landscape.