Loan agreements and bond indentures often contain "make-whole" provisions, which provide yield protection to lenders and investors in the event of a repayment prior to maturity. They accomplish this by requiring the borrower to pay a premium for pre-payment of a loan. This allows lenders to lock-in a guaranteed rate of return when they agree to provide financing. Borrowers also benefit since the yield protection allows lenders to offer lower interest rates or fees than they would absent such protection.
In a recent decision from the Delaware bankruptcy court, Judge Christopher S. Sontchi joined the debate over the interpretation of section 547(c)(4)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code, which sets forth the new value defense to a preference claim.
On April 14, in In re Free Lance-Star Publishing, 512 B.R. 798 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2014), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia considered the objection of Chapter 11 debtors to a secured creditor's right to credit bid at a sale of the debtors' assets pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Section 363.
Many indentures contain “make-whole provisions,” which protect a noteholder’s right to receive bargained-for interest payments by requiring compensation for lost interest when accrued principal and interest are paid early. Make-whole provisions permit a borrower to redeem or repay notes before maturity, but require the borrower to make a payment that is calculated to compensate noteholders for a loss of expected interest payments.
The 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code ushered in section 503(b)(9) of the Bankruptcy Code, which grants trade creditors an administrative expense for goods sold to the debtor in t
On August 26, 2014, Judge Robert D. Drain of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued a bench ruling in In re MPM Silicones, LLC, Case No. 14-22503 (RDD), on several aspects of the plan of reorganization filed by debtor Momentive Performance Materials, Inc., a specialty chemicals manufacturing company, and its affiliated debtors.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, on Sept. 3, 2014, vacated bankruptcy court and district court Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing orders due to: (1) the lender’s lack of good faith in relying on a third party’s shares of stock as collateral; and (2) the bankruptcy court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In re TMT Procurement Corp., 2014 WL 4364894 (5th Cir. Sept. 3, 2014).
In a recent bench decision in In re MPM Silicones, LLC et al., Case No. 14-22503-RDD (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. August 26, 2014), the Bankruptcy Court considered bondholders’ right to recover make-whole premiums (premiums paid for early repayment of debt) upon the payment of accelerated debt following the borrower’s bankruptcy default. The Court ruled that the governing loan documents lacked specific language requiring a make-whole premium upon acceleration.
In connection with a proposed sale of real property, a chapter 11 debtor sought to prohibit the mortgagee from submitting a credit bid. It contended that there was “cause” based on its argument that the mortgagee’s claims were subject to a bona fide dispute.
The extent of a transferee’s knowledge in the context of fraudulent transfer claims under the Bankruptcy Code has been a frequent topic of discussion on the Weil Bankruptcy Blog.