In this edition of Gilbert + Tobin's Corporate Advisory Update, we focus on key legal developments over the last month which are particularly relevant to in-house counsel.

The ACCC’s recommended merger reforms: a deeper dive

The ACCC’s recommended reforms have several significant implications for merging parties:

根据英国最高法院 2022 年底 Sequana¹ 的判决 ，新西兰最高法院在涉及 Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited²清算财产的长期案件中，对破产区公司董事所承担的义务问题进行了权衡及作出有力贡献。

当世界各地的董事们正努力应对各种宏观经济因素带来的困难和不确定时期时，这些决策为董事们应采取哪些保护自己及公司的方法提供了有用且及时的指导。

这可能意味着听取有关停止交易的建议，尝试签订重组支持协议或任命官员提供协助。在开曼群岛，新的重组支持官员制度提供了一个有用的体系，为董事提供休整期，以便在适当的情况下促进和实施可行的计划。

Mainzeal 的最新决定再次提醒大家，公司董事未能采纳建议和采取适当行动可能会导致严重后果。

Mainzeal 决定

The NSW Court of Appeal has allowed Garuda Indonesia to invoke sovereign immunity to foil an insolvency proceeding brought by aircraft lessor Greylag Goose Leasing.

The Court’s decision is Greylag Goose Leasing 1410 Designated Activity Company v P.T. Garuda Indonesia Ltd [2023] NSWCA 134 (14 June 2023) (Bell CJ, Meagher JA and Kirk JA agreeing).

Indonesia Authors: Jeanne E. Donauw and Hans Adiputra Kurniawan 1. KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2023 and Government Regulation No. 20 of 2023: New Merger Filing Regulation and Fees The Indonesian Business Competition Supervisory Commission – Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (“KPPU”) issued KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2023 (“Reg 3 of 2023”) as a new merger filing regulation, replacing, and revoking the previous regulation on the same matter, namely KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2019 (“Reg 3 of 2019”).

As a partner in Irwin Mitchell's Restructuring & Insolvency team, I have witnessed the challenges that businesses in the UK are currently facing. The decline in consumer demand has left many companies scrambling to cut costs and find innovative ways to survive. Recent research conducted by BDO, the accountancy firm, reveals that 57% of medium-sized businesses in the UK see the drop in Britons' spending as one of their biggest hurdles over the next six months.

In the recent decision in N.Chanthiran a/l Nagappan v Kao Che Jen [2023] 5 MLRA 247, the Federal Court had the occasion to put to rest, the question of whether leave of court is required for the commencement of proceedings against a court appointed liquidator. In this regard, the Federal Court clarified that leave of court is indeed required.

Brief Facts

As expected, the scope of directors' duties whilst a company is in financial difficulties has been the source of further consideration by the Court. The recent case of Hunt v Singh [2023] EWHC 1784 raised the question as to whether, following the Supreme Court decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA, a director's duty to take into account the interests of creditors arises where the company is at the relevant time insolvent if a disputed liability comes to fruition.

インドネシア 執筆者: ジェン・エリザベス・ドノウ、ハンス・アディプトラ・クルニアワン 1. 2023 年 KPPU 規則第 3 号及び 2023 年政令第 20 号：新しい企業結合届出規 則及び手数料 インドネシア企業競争監視委員会(Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha)(以下「KPPU｣という。)は、新しい企業 結合届出規則である 2023 年 KPPU 規則第 3 号(以下「2023 年規則第 3 号｣という。)を公布した。2023 年規則 第 3 号は、従前の企業結合届出規則である 2019 年 KPPU 規則第 3 号(以下「2019 年規則第 3 号｣という。)を廃 止し、これに取って代わるものである。以下に、2023 年規則第 3 号の主な要点を簡単に述べる。 (i) 企業結合届出要件：F2F(Foreign to Foreign)取引における地域関連基準 2023 年規則第 3 号によると、全ての取引当事者がインドネシアにおいて資産又は売上げを有する場合にの み、企業結合届出の義務が生じる。これは、取引当事者の 1 者でもインドネシアに資産又は売上げを有する 場合には企業結合届出義務が生じていた 2019年規則第3号に基づく制度と比べて注目すべき変更である。

Duties and Implications of financial Information in s.214 claims

Introduction

This article follows Part 1 in which I set out the key issues we have recently seen and the case law arising in Misfeasance and Wrongful Trading claims. This Part 2 considers the duties and implications surrounding the financial information that is available to directors when faced with a s.214 wrongful trading claim.

In this week’s TGIF, we consider Hutton, in the matter of Caydon Flemington Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers appointed) (In liq) [2023] FCA 796, a Federal Court decision concerning the grant of an extension after the ‘critical time’ for the vesting of a security interest.

Key takeaways