Frank Grell is a partner at Latham & Watkins who chairs the firm’s German Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. In this interview, he reflects on several successful applications of the German Insolvency Act (Insolvenzordnung) since the law was passed in 2012 and the continued shift towards a restructuring-based approach to large corporate insolvencies.

As a consequence of a recent amendment to the German insurance regulatory law, which entered into effect on 2 January 2014, infringements of certain compliance provisions applicable to insurance companies in Germany can constitute a criminal offence.

This is a two-part article on ways to restructure debt taken up by a German company. The first part looks at financings under English law, the second refers to German law-governed debt.

Part I – Financings governed by English law (restructuring through schemes of arrangement)

In recent years a number of German companies such as Tele Columbus, Rodenstock and Primacom have used English law scheme of arrangements to restructure their debt.

An element of the restructuring toolbox

In view of the impending Solvency II Directive (Directive 2009/138/EC), which will be fully applied as of 1 January 2016, and the considerable changes associated with the directive, the (German) insurance landscape will not remain in its current state.

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I)     Introduction

Frank Grell is a partner at Latham & Watkins who chairs the firm’s German Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. Grell reflects on some of the major changes brought about by Germany’s 2012 Insolvency Act (Insolvenzordnung), including an increase in the rights of creditors in the proceedings over the assets of German companies, the introduction of “protective shield” proceedings and a reduction in the negative stigma previously associated with restructuring and insolvency.

As of March 1, 2012, a revised German Insolvency Code – amended by the Act for the Further Facilitation of Restructuring of Companies (Gesetz zur weiteren Erleichterung der Sanierung von Unternehmen, the so called ESUG) – went into effect. The changes brought by the ESUG have received great attention not only in Germany, but also abroad. The general view among insolvency practitioners is positive. The reform of the Insolvency Code is mostly considered a success as it has noticeably improved the possibilities to restructure companies.

Für weitere Fragen steht Ihnen
folgender Kollege zur
Verfügung:
Berlin
Dr. Thorsten Seidel, LL.M.
T.: +49 (0)30 2 20 02 81 724
E-Mail: Thorsten.Seidel
@bakermckenzie.com
Beendigung von Ergebnisabführungsverträgen bei
M&A Transaktionen und Restrukturierungen
Ergebnisabführungsverträge („EAV“) sind häufig bei M&A Transaktionen und
im Rahmen von Restrukturierungen zu beenden. Zwei neuere
Gerichtsentscheidungen sollten dabei beachtet werden. Andernfalls laufen
die Parteien Gefahr, dass der EAV nicht ordnungsgemäß beendet wird oder

In retrospect, 2012 likely will be remembered as another year of manifold challenges in the Eurozone and of slow consolidation rather than one of fundamental reform or renaissance. However, the policy of Mr. Draghi, the chairman of the European Central Bank, appears to have stabilized the markets and the Euro since last summer, Germany's economy is prospering and the stock markets are almost back to pre-2008 levels. Nonetheless, there are fundamental doubts that the measures taken have a lasting effect and will fundamentally reform the economies in the Eurozone.