This is the second part of a two-part article on ways to restructure debt taken up by a German company. The first part looked at financings governed by English law, this second part deals with German law-governed debt.
Part II – Financings governed by German law (restructuring through protective shield proceedings or schemes of arrangement)
INTRODUCTION
Die Frage der Kompetenzverteilung zwischen dem Vorstand und der Hauptversammlung der AG ist ein Dauerthema des Aktienrechts. Der Autor entwickelt ein eigenes Konzept zur dogmatischen Begründung ungeschriebener Hauptversammlungskompetenzen und untersucht, ob für den Börsenrückzug und die fakultative Insolvenzantragstellung eine Zustimmung der Hauptversammlung erforderlich ist. Der Autor lehnt die Frosta-Entscheidung des BGH ab und vertritt die Ansicht, dass der Börsenrückzug (reguläres Delisting wie auch das Downlisting) wertungsmäßig mit den in § 119 Abs. 1 Nr.
Ausgangssituation
During its 44th congress in Toronto, on September 17, 2014, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) adopted a resolution on "IP Licensing and Insolvency". The resolution regarding "Question Q241" can be accessed via AIPPI's website using the following link:https://www.aippi.org/download/commitees/241/RS241English.pdf.
The Resolution
German insolvency law is governed by a comprehensive Insolvency Code which entered into force on January 1, 1999 and has been amended from time to time, the last major reform being the Act for the Further Facilitation of the Restructuring of Companies (ESUG) which largely came into force as of 1 March 2012. Further modifications were implemented in a second reform which came into force on 1 July 2014.There is only one primary uniform insolvency procedure which applies to both individuals and companies. In the following, we focus on companies.
Foreign suppliers are often not familiar with the legal framework applying in an insolvency of their German customers. That lack of familiarity may leave them ill-prepared to deal with distressed customers. In many cases, the foreign suppliers have not taken the measures necessary to protect themselves.
I plan to provide readers throughout the following months, with information that suppliers may find helpful to better protect their position in case of an insolvency of their German customer. Questions and comments are welcome!
Banking & Finance
Aktuelle Informationen des
Geschäftsbereichs Banking & Finance
News from the Banking & Finance practice
Dezember / December 2014
German insolvency law, unlike US insolvency law, only recently introduced (in 2012) the so-called protective shield proceedings (Schutzschirmverfahren) to enable potentially illiquid and/or over-indebted debtors to restructure the company on the basis of a so-called insolvency plan. Thereby, the liquidation of a company by a future insolvency administrator can be avoided.