The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (“SBRA”) took effect in February 2020. The SBRA gives small businesses new forms of bankruptcy relief that were not previously available to them under federal law, including the ability for business owners to retain ownership of their businesses without first paying their creditors in full.
Unlike the GFC, which was essentially a liquidity crisis, Australia is likely to face a gradual increase in business insolvencies, rather than the feared ‘insolvency cliff’, as the Federal Government’s COVID-19 stimulus measures are wound down at the end of March.
The Australian government has taken swift action to enact new legislation that significantly changes the insolvency laws relevant to all business as a result of the ongoing developments related to COVID-19.
On 24 February 2021, the government published new draft Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations), following the consultation process conducted in late 2020. The Regulations are still to be debated by Parliament, but are expected to come into effect on 30 April 2021 with few substantive amendments.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, one Mr Johnson George of India holds the world record for the most roles played by any actor in one film. He played 45 roles, including Gandhi, Leonardo Da Vinci and Jesus. Company directors don’t have quite as many roles, nor are they as lofty.
What happens to a company’s intellectual property rights when the company is dissolved?
Sometimes not all loose ends are tied up neatly and companies are dissolved whilst still owning assets. What happens to those assets if they are not bought prior to dissolution can appear mysterious, but even following the dissolution of the company the assets may continue to exist. In this article we discuss the processes that can be used in England and Wales to obtain intellectual property assets from dissolved companies.
Falling into “bona vacantia”
Essential points to consider if your company is looking at ways to improve balance sheet strength, whether strategically, opportunistically, or to help repair the damage done by the pandemic.
60 SECOND BASICS
WHAT IS IT
Avec la promulgation de la loi n° 14.112/2020 entrée en vigueur le 23 janvier 2021, le Brésil adopte la loi type de la Commissions des Nations Unies pour le Droit Commercial International (« CNUDCI ») sur l’insolvabilité internationale de 1997 (la « Loi Type »), devenant ainsi le 49ème Etat à le faire.
Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (Aeroméxico), is a publicly held company incorporated under the Mexican laws. It has its establishment in Mexico and yet filed for bankruptcy in a US court. Probably Aeromexico wanted to get access to a more flexible and expedited bankruptcy, but at the end of the day, its bankruptcy story will be finished in Mexico.
As published in the Business Post, March 14th.
Corporate partners Eoin Brereton and Bernard McEvoy discuss their experience in advising clients though crises including the ongoing pandemic in yesterday’s Business Post report on corporate restructuring and rebuilding corporate performance.