One common denominator links nearly all stressed businesses: tight liquidity. After the liquidity hole is identified and sized, the discussion inevitably turns to the question of who will fund the necessary capital to extend the liquidity runway. For a PE-backed business where there is a credible path to recovery, a sponsor, due to its existing equity stake, is often willing to inject additional capital into an underperforming portfolio company.

The Federal Court of Australia recently handed down a landmark judgment against a third party adviser for devising an asset-stripping scheme and breaching the creditor-defeating disposition provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

In a significant development for the crypto industry, a Delaware bankruptcy court has approved a plan for FTX to return more than $14 billion worth of assets to its creditors. The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022, previously estimated that it owed creditors around $11.2 billion. The approved plan will see 98% of creditors receiving 119% of the value of their allowed claims as of the bankruptcy filing date, reflecting a remarkable recovery for affected parties.

Recouping Billions for Distribution

When you read the papers do you start from the front or back? I usually skim read the front-page headlines and immediately flick to the back (sport) pages. It’s less dispiriting that way. Or if it’s the weekend, I fumble my way through the different sections, past the gazillions of adverts showcasing tyre inflators and hair loss treatments, before I land at the sports section. They don’t make it easy for you do those weekend editors.

Summary

The Hong Kong Government received 37 submissions from the public in July 2024 regarding the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) and held discussions with deputations from different stakeholders at a LegCo meeting on 16 July 2024.

Im Entscheid vom 23. November 2023 (PS230150) hatte sich das Obergericht des Kantons Zürich mit der Frage der Lokalisierung von Kryptowährungen (Zahlungs-Token) im Kontext von Art. 167 f.

Background

The defining feature of the restructuring plan, which was introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, is the "cross class cram down" ("CCCD") mechanism it introduces as a means of imposing a settlement on recalcitrant creditors.

Overview

Judgment was handed down on 30 September sanctioning the much-trailed restructuring plans for the Cineworld UK group of companies. The sanctioning of the Plans was widely expected, but drama came at the eleventh hour as a result of two last minute challenges brought by UK Commercial Property Finance Holdings ("UKCP") and the Crown Estate (both landlords of Cineworld leases). UKCP and the Crown Estate sought injunctions - not to challenge the Plans in themselves - but to order the removal of their leases from the Plans. 

The English High Court has exercised its cram down power and sanctioned the Part 26A restructuring plans proposed by four of Cineworld’s UK operating companies, in face of significant opposition from its landlord creditors, including a novel injunction application by two landlords to exclude their leases from the plans. In sanctioning the plan, Cineworld’s UK Group avoided administration at the end of September.

自主清算程序相对更加灵活，可根据实际情况灵活调整清算策略，因此退出效率会更高。破产清算需要根据企业破产法的规定履行相应的程序流程并受法院监督，清产核资、拍卖处置资产也是时间不可控的程序，原则上破产清算周期更长。尽管如此，从破产管理人的选派程序和破产清算的申请流程看，破产管理人由法院指定，而后从破产申请到清算程序终止的一系列工作，均由破产管理人负责开展，公司股东工作量极大减少。

图：源自投中网

虽然过去五年国有资本的参股投资行为在投资金额上并不领先，但其项目数量远超并购及新股发行认购行为。与此相对应的是，国务院国资委于2023年6月23日发布了《国有企业参股管理暂行办法》（国资发改革规〔2023〕41号）（简称“暂行办法”），该办法对国有资本的投资、管理、退出进行了规范，标志着国资监管向强化国有企业参股管理迈进了一大步。《暂行办法》将适用范围扩大至所有国资委履行出资人职责的企业及其子企业，而不仅局限于中央企业^[1]。

在投资方面，该办法对国有资本进行了谦抑化规范，严控非主业投资，例如第六条要求国有资产投资“坚持聚焦主责主业，符合企业发展战略规划，严控非主业投资，不得通过参股等方式开展投资项目负面清单规定的禁止类业务”。