When WeWork faced turmoil globally, leading its U.S. parent company to file for bankruptcy protection in 2023, few expected its Indian affiliate to become a case study in strength and discipline. Once seen as a symbol of the “new economy,” WeWork’s downfall illustrated the dangers of excessive growth, inflated valuations, and weak governance where the promise of change often exceeded execution. In this context, WeWork India operated under a brand license and was supported by the Embassy Group, taking a different route.
Investors or companies may, as part of their wider investment thesis or business plan, make distressed asset purchases to strategically acquire assets which they may otherwise not be able to conveniently or affordably obtain. While the face value of the asset purchased may be lower than that acquired in a “solvent” transaction, purchasers should be aware that such acquisitions carry a heavy tail liability risk, which may take the form of a potential clawback as a transaction at an undervalue.
In a recent decision, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has clarified equitable subordination risks in connection with shareholder loans. The key takeaways are as follows:
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SERIES APRIL, 2025 | VOL. XXIII VAISH ASSOCIATES ADVOCATES LEGALAXY WWW.VAISHLAW.COM LEGAL MAXIM Inter alia: “Among other things” MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SERIES APRIL, 2025 | VOL.
Consolidation of business by way of a merger is a widely accepted mechanism for corporate restructuring.
Irish companies can now avail of various methods with which to merge, migrate or spin off all - or portions of - their businesses with other European Union (“EU”) limited liability companies. In our experience, these restructuring tools can be particularly useful for global post-acquisition integration, carve-out, spin-off or rationalisation projects. This has been made possible by an EU directive introduced into Irish law on 24 May 2023 by the European Union (Cross-Border Conversions, Mergers and Divisions) Regulations 2023 (the “Regulations”).
Distressed transactions increasingly mark the Swiss M&A landscape. An important piece in the Swiss restructuring toolbox is the sale of parts or all of the business under court supervision during a composition moratorium. It has been used successfully in an increasing number of cases recently. Typically, the relevant part of the business is pre-packed – structured and prepared for sale – before being sold with court approval. As we anticipate more distressed M&A transactions in 2025, it is worthwhile exploring the intricacies and implications of the Swiss pre-pack.
目前对于陷入困境但仍具备重整价值及重整可行性的企业而言，破产重整是其实现风险出清和企业重生的重要方式。在破产重整中，投资人参与的主要方式包括股权投资、资产投资和债权投资等，其中股权投资为较为重要的投资方式（其基本流程如下图），本文将结合实践，从投资人视角，浅析破产重整中股权投资的机遇和风险防范，以期为投资人参与重整投资提供帮助。
图1：破产重整中股权投资基本流程图
一、重整投资的机遇
现阶段，重整投资作为“新一轮招商引资”处于重要机遇期。以上市公司重整为例，2023年7月底的数据显示其中超90%的产业投资人和财务投资人账面呈现浮盈[1]；2024年以来，截至11月，有44家上市公司被申请重整及预重整，较前一年同期增加超四成[2]。由此可见，破产重整蕴含着较多投资机会，其在目前政策环境、价值发掘、成本控制和业务整合等方面均展现出投资“机遇”。
A distressed merger and acquisition (“M&A”) is essentially a sub-category of a conventional M&A, which involves sales of shares or assets of companies that are in financial turmoil and these companies are being placed under administration, receivership and/or liquidation. Due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, distressed M&A transactions have become more common in recent years with companies in financial and operational distress looking to dispose of their assets to better manage high illiquidity as well as reducing over-indebtedness risk.