As we approach the end of 2015, now is the time to start planning the liquidation of Cayman Islands entities that have reached the end of their life cycle to ensure that unnecessary 2016 fees are not incurred.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey recently held that a Cayman Islands collateralized-debt obligation issuer (“CDO”) could be a debtor under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) and declined to dismiss an involuntary case commenced against the CDO by certain noteholders on the grounds that the notes held by such noteholders were “non-recourse” notes. Below is a discussion of the court’s decision and its potential implications. The decision is currently being appealed.
WHAT IS FATCA?
Over the past two or three years, we have seen an increasing number of cases where a client holds and wishes to sell or transfer shares in a Cayman Islands company which is in liquidation, or is seeking to purchase shares in such a company from another party. In those circumstances, the transfer of the shares would be void absent the validation of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, as a result of section 99 of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) ("Section 99"). Section 99 is in the following terms:
A recent decision1 from the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands demonstrates a flexible use of the scheme of arrangement process to achieve a commercial resolution of an application to remove the SPhinX Group's joint official liquidators ("JOLs").
When a corporate borrower faces financial difficulties, there are a variety of enforcement, restructuring and insolvency options available to creditors. From a creditor’s perspective, the choice of procedure will depend on whether the borrower has granted security. If security has been granted over the shares or the assets and undertakings of a Cayman Islands incorporated company pursuant to a Cayman Islands law governed security document, the most appropriate enforcement choice for any secured creditor may be receivership.
Last week, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited (in Liquidation) (the "Fund") v Stefan Peterson and Hans Ekstrom (the "Directors"). The appeal from the first instance decision was allowed and the Grand Court's order of 26 August 2011 was set aside.
The Court of Appeal has recently clarified that if a foreign company, being a shareholder of a Cayman Islands company, issues a winding up petition against that company and there is evidence that the petitioning company will be unable to pay an adverse costs order if the respondent is successful at trial, then the Cayman Islands court has an inherent jurisdiction to order the petitioning foreign company to provide security for the respondent's costs – Re Dyxnet Holdings1.
On 4 June 2015 the Cayman Islands Grand Court ruled in favour of Primeo Fund (Primeo), in the ongoing Representative Proceedings between Primeo and Herald Fund SPC (Herald). The Court had to construe section 37(7)(a) of the Companies Law. Although the Court's detailed reasons are still awaited, it is clear from the Court's decision that section 37(7)(a) does not apply to redeeming investors whose shares have been redeemed prior to the commencement of the liquidation.
The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the Court) recently ruled in favour of Primeo Fund (in official liquidation) (Primeo) in its ongoing representative proceedings with the Additional Liquidator of Herald Fund SPC (in official liquidation) (Herald).