Reposted from Law A La Mode
Opportunity Arises Out of Adversity
The recent global financial crisis has seen consumers tighten their belts and the retail industry as a whole has faced increasing pressure. Profits warnings have peppered the financial pages and fashion retailers, in both the budget and luxury sectors, have been subject to formal insolvency processes.
However, for those fortunate enough to be in the position of buyer, the current climate can give rise to considerable opportunities, including:
Protecting your business from exposure to supplier and customer insolvency
The risk of unforeseen counterparty customer or supplier financial distress and failure amidst the on-going challenges for businesses from COVID-19 means that pre-emptive legal and operational protections against the risk of heavy financial loss or business disruption from customer/supplier failure are more valuable than ever.
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of insolvency laws have been updated. Our guidance outlines what this means to businesses in 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The on-going impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could have a significant impact on your global supply and customer chains. We can assist in responding to such risks in the various jurisdictions in which you operate, source materials and/or supply products and services.
Please click here for further information on the key warning signs and early action points.
DURING THE PAST YEAR, many investors in the distressed debt market have received postreorganization private equity1 either through a confirmed plan of reorganization or through participation in a rights offering. Unlike publicly traded equity, each new issuance of postreorganization equity leaves recipients, issuers, and agents potentially facing uncharted territory in terms of how the instrument is to trade and settle.
Yesterday the Joint Forum, a group established in 1996 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to deal with issues common to the banking, securities, and insurance sectors, released “Review of the Differentiated Nature and Scope of Financial Regulation – Key Issues and Recommendations”, which addresses key issues and recommendations on the differenti
On Monday, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) announced that it will issue a CDS auction protocol regarding the settlement of credit derivatives that reference Smurfit-Stone Consolidated Enterprise Inc. The protocol is a response to Smurfit-Stone’s recent filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
Financial institutions continue to prepare for the anticipated cessation of the publication of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) benchmark after the end of 2021 and its replacement with “risk-free” overnight rates, including reformed SONIA (for sterling) and the new SOFR rate (for U.S. dollars). Transitioning affected financial products to the new rates and amending legacy books is a massive project for any sizable institution.
EBITDA first rose to prominence in the US leveraged buy-out craze of the 1980s and has since formed the key metric of leveraged finance transactions across the world. In this article, we focus on its evolution in the European loans market, and explore how financial covenant and certain other protections in loan documentation have been eroded in recent years as a result of those changes.
This article first appeared in the November edition of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.