In a January 2023 opinion,1 the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court overseeing the bankruptcy case of Latin American airline Avianca and certain of its affiliates sanctioned over 150 of the airline’s Brazilian and Columbian creditors who had filed proofs of claim in the bankruptcy case finding t
I was recently reminded of an upcoming presentation my colleague Dan Conway, and I are due to be delivering to the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC) on wind down planning and the importance of an effective and executable plan for FCA-regulated businesses.
The recent Cayman Grand Court ruling of In the Matter of ECM Straits Fund I, LP ("ECM Straits Fund") helpfully clarifies that voluntary liquidators of an Exempted Limited Partnership ("ELP") can be subject to court supervision, with the result that voluntary liquidators can be granted powers that are usually reserved for court-appointed liquidators.
Introduction
Battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the decline in passengers travelling to Hong Kong, Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) has become the latest carrier to undergo a debt restructuring. Its restructuring plan was sanctioned by the English court on 9 December 2022 and its scheme of arrangement was sanctioned by the Hong Kong court on 14 December 2022.
In summary:
A Manhattan federal jury ruled in favor of luxury brand Hermès in its trademark infringement lawsuit against an individual that created non-fungible tokens ("NFTs") depicting images resembling the famous Hermès Birkin handbag.
Amidst the cost of living crisis, businesses are folding in record numbers, with barely a week passing without news of a big company casualty. Paperchase is the latest retailer to collapse into administration, with the business being snapped up by Tesco for sale in its superstores and 820 jobs reportedly at risk. So how can we identify the businesses that are in the danger zone and could be heading for insolvency?
1. Profit warnings
The latest statistics from UHY Hacker Young which reveal the financial difficulties faced by pubs and bars are disappointing and very concerning.
According to the national accountancy firm, insolvencies rose from 280 in 2020/21 to 512 as of the end of 2022. Given the perfect storm caused by rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, staff shortages and escalating salary costs, it perhaps isn’t too surprising. Nevertheless, corporate failure is not inevitable and businesses can do something about it.
The U.K. government has published its much-anticipated proposals for regulating the cryptoasset industry. These proposals, currently in the form of a consultation, will see many (but not all) cryptoasset-related activities being brought within the regulatory perimeter for financial services in the U.K.
在《商法》2022年11月刊首发。
医药BD（business development，商务拓展）项目通常指通过授权许可、投资、并购、合作开发/商业化等方式进行产品和技术的商业机会拓展。全球新冠疫情已逾三年，医药行业的市场环境和商业预期亦深受影响，导致医药BD项目面临不同程度的挑战。
折射到法律和履约层面，不可抗力、情势变更与市场变化等因素也逐渐变成医药企业内部会议或与合作伙伴商讨如何继续开展项目时高频出现的词汇。是继续“厮守”，还是友好“分手”，往往成为不可回避的话题。
一、妥善约定退出机制
协议是项目开展的基础，项目因各种原因难以为继而需要终止时，退出机制的设计就成为关键。通道不清、权责不明的终止或解除条款将导致企业退出困难，且通常伴随着高昂的时间与经济成本。
协议的终止/解除可分为法定终止/解除与意定终止/解除的两种情形。
在中国法下，常见法定终止情形包括不可抗力与情势变更，两种情形都具有不可预见性，在双方意见不一时，需由法院或仲裁机构决定适用。相对而言，意定终止基于双方事前合意，意见较易统一，可预见性更强。居安思危，事前规划退出机制，明确双方对于合作终止情形的预期，也是对项目负责的表现。