Welcome back to Distressed Debt Legal Insights, Ropes & Gray’s source of timely insights for professionals navigating the complex world of liability management and special situations finance. In this issue we will provide a summary of certain aspects of the noteholder litigation in Wesco that culminated in the recent district court decision approving the 2022 uptier transaction and reversing the bankruptcy court’s decision.

The Original Transaction

In this issue, we spotlight the unfolding litigation between the UCC and Oaktree in TPI Composites’ ongoing bankruptcy, which appears to be headed for a settlement. This case is unusual in that the uptier transformed former equity holders into senior creditors rather than elevating existing lenders.

The Unsecured Creditors Committee Challenge

Welcome back to Distressed Debt Legal Insights, Ropes & Gray’s new source of timely insights for professionals navigating the complex world of liability management. In this edition, we’re looking at how Anthology resolved an objection to its proposed non-pro rata DIP rollup.

Background

Anthology filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 29 in the Southern District of Texas with a restructuring support agreement signed by 87% of first out lenders and 68% of second out lenders.

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.

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.

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.

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."

Borrower beware: in times of distress, your credit documents may give your secured lenders an opportunity to “flip” control of your board

Distress happens, even at companies that once appeared financially solid. When it does, the company, its board (which may be controlled by a sponsor in a public or private equity scenario), and its lenders often enter into restructuring discussions in search of a consensual path forward, typically under the terms of a forbearance agreement.

When a company is on the brink of entering into insolvency proceedings the tax impact, understandably, may not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind and so may be overlooked. However, entry into liquidation or administration or the appointment of a receiver can have an adverse impact on, and sever, UK tax groups. This can result in (unexpected) tax leakage and further depletion of assets, adding greater pressure to the distressed situation.

HMRC has recently updated its published guidance on the effect of insolvency on existing VAT groups following appointment of an insolvency practitioner.

The updated guidance

The updated guidance provides that: