Victoria's Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the risk that a disclaimer of property may be set aside where the liquidators are indemnified, and the need for liquidators to be mindful where the company holds contaminated property.
It is important for a receiver or voluntary administrator to ensure that a proper sales process is undertaken relevant to the circumstances as there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach.
The abolition of the "peak indebtedness" rule will complicate liquidators' tasks, not least its adverse effect on pursuing preferences where it's unclear what forms the single transaction.
Our research shows rescue financing in Australia has been deployed as one element of a broader restructuring strategy, most commonly by an existing stakeholder, rather than as a profitable activity in itself.
As participants in the Australian debt restructuring market continue to innovate we expect to see an increase in these control transactions, testing further again the Australian statutory regimes.
The Virgin sale shows the flexibility of Australia's restructuring regime and sets a significant judicial precedent for future control transactions.
Virgin Airlines restructured through voluntary administration
On 20 April 2020, Virgin Australia and a number of its subsidiaries were placed into voluntary administration owing $7 billion of debt to around 12,000 creditors with partners at Deloitte Australia being appointed as joint and several voluntary administrators of Virgin. Clayton Utz was appointed to act for the Administrators.
Overseas developments might have inspired mooted changes to create a debtor in possession model in Australia.
2021 began with a sense of optimism, but COVID-19 is continuing to wreak havoc on the Australian economy. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is forecasting a 0.7% decline GDP in the September quarter and a likely rise in unemployment in July. New South Wales in particular, is expected to be hit very hard.
Unusual circumstances have spurred innovation and ground-breaking responses which will reshape restructuring and insolvency.
Just when you thought it was safe to return to your favourite local restaurant and that COVID-19 had exclusive rights to 2020, we find ourselves once again working from home and having to cope with the lingering effects of the virus. Unfortunately for corporate Australia, the COVID virus is as contagious as it always was for your business… but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for some.
In a substantial recent decision arising from the Arrium liquidation[1], the Supreme Court of New South Wales considered the materiality of significant future liabilities in assessing the company’s solvency.
A hotly anticipated decision in the ongoing saga of the Babcock & Brown liquidation was handed down last week, resulting in another win for the liquidator (represented by Johnson Winter & Slattery) and further highlighting the challenges facing liquidators when they are thrust into a quasi-judicial function when assessing proofs of debt.