On 21 April 2023, the English High Court handed down its written reasons for sanctioning the Adler Group restructuring plan proposed under the new Part 26A regime of the UK’s Companies Act 2006, which raised questions regarding the jurisdiction of the Court, cross-class cram downs, pari passu issues and competing valuations.

On May 2, 2023, the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana reversed a bankruptcy court’s ruling that read limitations into the application of Bankruptcy Code Section 546(e)’s safe harbor to a stock purchase transaction. Specifically, the District Court relied on the plain language of Section 546 in determining that a chapter 7 trustee could not avoid the transfer of $24.9 million by the debtor to repay a bridge loan in connection with a financed acquisition of the debtor’s stock two years prior to its bankruptcy filing.

Since their introduction to the English insolvency regime in 2020, court sanctioned restructuring plans under Part 26A of the UK Companies Act 2006 – a new, more-flexible alternative to traditional UK restructuring tools – which take some of their DNA from U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings (in particular, the ‘cross class cram down’ mechanism), have been a hot topic for insolvency lawyers.

German insolvency law is governed by a comprehensive Insolvency Code that entered into force on 1 January 1999 and has since then regularly been subject to amendments from time to time. There is only one primary uniform insolvency procedure that applies to both individuals and companies. In the following, we focus on companies. Insolvency proceedings can be initiated against any natural or legal person, excluding certain legal persons organized under public law, such as the German Federation or the German states.

On 21 April 2023, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (CA) released its judgment Power Securities Co Ltd v Sin Kwok Lam [2023] HKCA 594, which provided certainty on the application of the bar against reflective loss for shareholders.

Background

戦略的提携・拠点開設のお知らせ クアラルンプール 1 アジアでのさらなる体制強化のため、2023 年 1 月より WM Leong & Co と当事務所のシンガポール拠点である Nishimura & Asahi (Singapore) LLP が、マレーシア業務に関して戦略的提携を行っております。 WM Leong & Co は、マレーシア法において豊富な知識・経験を有するワンメイ・リョン マレーシア弁護士が代表を 務めるマレーシアの独立した法律事務所です。WM Leong & Co との戦略的提携の下で、マレーシアが関わるクロ スボーダー案件について豊富な経験を有する眞榮城大介弁護士および当事務所シンガポール事務所所属の弁 護士が中心となり WM Leong & Co と緊密に連携しながらクライアントのマレーシア事業の拡大および現地ビジネ スのサポートを行ってまいります。2 札幌 2023 年 4 月に札幌事務所を開設しております。道内企業での執務経験を有し、コーポレート・M&A・エネルギーの 分野ならびに海外案件支援に強みを持つ坪野未来弁護士が所属しており、身近なところでご相談をいただきなが ら、きめの細かいアドバイスを提供いたします。

Indonesia Authors: Miriam Andreta and Hans Adiputra Kurniawan 1. Bankruptcy and Liquidation: Updates Brought by PPSK Law With respect to bankruptcy and liquidation of certain parties (public listed companies, banks, non-bank financial institutions), there are certain updates and clarifications set out in Law on Development and Improvement of Financial Sector (also known by its local abbreviation “PPSK Law”) - which came into effect on 12 January 2023 (except for certain provisions that are explicitly intended to take effect otherwise).

A recent amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 has clarified that voluntary administrators are personally liable for the GST of companies under their administration.

What can we say about the outcome of the GAS (Great Annual Savings Company Limited) sanction hearing that hasn’t already been reported?

It’s impossible not to comment on the fact that the plan was not sanctioned, and as a consequence of fierce opposition from HMRC that it avoided cram down. Nor that the court refused to sanction the plan on the basis that the conditions for cram down were not met – the court was not satisfied that HMRC would be better off under the plan and even if it were the judge said he would have not exercised his discretion to cram down.

The original version of this article was first published in the Trilegal Quarterly Roundup.

Key Developments

1. SEBI prescribes new disclosure requirements and dos and don’ts for the issue of green debt securities