One gauge of the level of business distress is the number of bankruptcy applications filed, which have risen sharply in 2021. Often seen as a last resort, this indicates that despite the continued support of the government and financial institutions, many businesses see filing bankruptcy as the best option for their businesses to survive. According to the Central Bankruptcy Court (Bankruptcy Court), 9,171 bankruptcy proceedings were filed in 2020 for a total value of THB 836.803 billion (compared to 5,415 cases in 2018 and 8,398 in 2019).

As participants in the Australian debt restructuring market continue to innovate we expect to see an increase in these control transactions, testing further again the Australian statutory regimes.

This week’s TGIF concerns Kennedy Civil Contracting Pty Ltd (Admins Appt) v Richard Crookes Construction Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 99, in which the New South Wales Supreme Court determined that an insolvent company’s creditors could properly make a DOCA to maintain the right under security of payment legislation to recover amounts that would have been lost on entry into liquidation.

Key takeaways

As participants in the Australian debt restructuring market continue to innovate we expect to see an increase in these control transactions, testing further again the Australian statutory regimes.

This week’s TGIF considers In the matter of Habibi Waverton (in liquidation) (administrator appointed) [2021] NSWSC 1443, a recent decision of the Supreme Court of NSW in which the Court opted to use its general powers to allow a voluntary administrator to transfer shares without the owner’s consent to implement a DOCA.

Key Takeaways