On 20 May 2020, the U.K. government published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the bill), which includes measures designed to help businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic and features important substantive reforms to U.K. restructuring law, whose introduction has been accelerated by the crisis.
COVID-19-Related Measures:
The key temporary measures introduced by the bill are:
Statutory Demands and Winding up Petitions
In a special edition of the latest bi-monthly magazine, Israel Desks, we explore the unprecedented impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on Israeli and global law firms and their clients. Managing and Senior Partners, amongst Israel's leading law firms discuss what issues have concerned clients and how they have been coping. We also talk to leaders in Germany, Italy, UK, U.S., Poland and China to find out how they have been handling this crisis and what legal advice their clients have been seeking.
On 20 May 2020, the UK Government introduced the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the “Bill”) to the House of Commons. The aim of the Bill was temporarily to amend corporate insolvency laws to give companies the best possible chance of weathering the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government interventions into economies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are now globally widespread. To date, in the UK, this has predominantly been focussed on relief measures targeted at financial support, including the creation of government backed loan schemes and the furlough scheme.
This legal guide summarises the scope of directors’ duties when a British Virgin Islands company encounters financial difficulties.
Introduction
This legal guide should be read in conjunction with the legal guide entitled “Duties of a director under British Virgin Islands Law” which describes in further detail the duties which British Virgin Islands law imposes on a director generally.
In In re Nine West LBO Securities Litigation (Case No. 20-2941) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 4, 2020), a federal district court denied in part a motion to dismiss claims brought by the Nine West liquidating trustee against former directors (the "Defendants") of The Jones Group, Inc. (the "Company"), Nine West's predecessor, for, among other things, (i) breaches of their fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, and (ii) aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duties. The litigation arises from the 2014 LBO of the Company by a private equity sponsor ("Buyer").
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
Business headlines have warned of a potential “chilling effect on buyouts” as a result of the decision recently issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in In re: Nine West LBO Securities Litigation (Dec. 4, 2020). Contrary to the views of some other commentators on the decision, we do not believe that the decision is likely to chill leveraged buyout activity, to upend how LBOs have been conducted, or to significantly increase the potential of liability for target company directors selling the company in an LBO.
A recent ruling from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sent shock waves through the legal and financial community, with some shouting that this “could be a gamestopper for the private equity business.”1 Although the ruling in In re Nine West LBO Securities Litigation2 breaks new ground and arguably narrows the protections available to directors under the normally-broad business judgment rule, there are clear lessons others can take from this saga to prevent a similar fate.
1. はじめに
本年 7 月、経済産業省において、｢事業再編実務指針～事業ポートフォリオと組織の変革に向けて～｣(以下｢本指針｣)が策定･ 公表されました 1 。本指針は、日本企業における事業ポートフォリオの変革を後押しするためのベストプラクティスをまとめたもの で、企業の持続的な成長と中長期的な企業価値の向上を促すコーポレートガバナンス・コードの実践に向け、これを補完するガイ ドラインの一つとして位置付けられています 2 。