Recent economic challenges have triggered significant developments for household name companies in 2023.
On March 19, 2023, it was announced that UBS plans to acquire Credit Suisse in an allshares transaction, valuing Credit Suisse at CHF 0.76 per share / CHF 3 billion. The Swiss Federal Council, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the Swiss National Bank expressed their support for the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in Q2/23 following approvals by relevant authorities. AT1 capital instruments issued by Credit Suisse of appr. CHF 16 billion in aggregate have been written-down in full.
Introduction
The Blakes Aviation group, representing the underwriters led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, is pleased to have assisted in the closing of the third Air Canada enhanced equipment trust certificate (EETC) transaction.
In April 2013, we assisted in the structuring and closing of Air Canada EETC 2013-1 for five new Boeing 777 300ERs, which was a historic transaction, including the following features:
On 24 November 2017, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that in the event a suspension of payments is converted into a bankruptcy, interest that accrues after the suspension of payments was granted, but before the debtor was declared bankrupt, can be presented to the bankruptcy trustee for verification (HR 24 November 2017, ECLI:NL:HR:2017:2991).
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., 138 S.Ct. 883 (2018), held that transfers made by or to entities that are not “financial institutions” or other covered entities fall outside the scope of 11 U.S.C. § 546(e)’s “safe harbor” from a trustee’s avoidance powers under the Bankruptcy Code, even if those transfers are made through financial institutions or other covered entities.
Last week, the unanimous Supreme Court clarified that the “clearing and settlement” exception to a bankruptcy trustee’s avoiding powers covers only payments “to,” not merely through, financial market participants.
On February 27, 2018, a unanimous Supreme Court held in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc. (link here) that an otherwise-avoidable transfer is not subject to the safe harbor in Section 546(e) (which provides, in relevant part, a trustee may not avoid a transfer that is a “settlement payment . . . made by or to (or for the benefit of) a . . . financial institution” or that “is a transfer made by or to (or for the benefit of) a . . .
The Circuit Courts of Appeal have split on whether a prepetition transfer made by a debtor is avoidable if the transfer was made through a financial intermediary that was a mere conduit. Today, the Supreme Court unanimously resolved the split by deciding that transfers through “mere conduits” are not protected. This is a major (and adverse) decision for lenders, bondholders and noteholders who receive payments through an intermediary such as a disbursing agent.
Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors v Credit Suisse (In re Champion Enterprises, Inc.), 2010 WL 3522132 (Bankr. D. Del. 2010)
CASE SNAPSHOT
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently dismissed equitable subordination and fraudulent transfer claims filed by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Champion Enterprises, Inc. ("Champion") against more than 100 prepetition lenders to Champion (collectively, the "Defendants")1.