WHITE PAPER An Update on Insolvency in the Australian Construction Industry The construction sector in Australia has long been affected by insolvency and broader liquidity issues. In the last year, construction companies accounted for 26% of businesses that entered into insolvency, and insolvencies in the construction sector more than doubled. This year, contractors have been further squeezed by inflation, supply chain issues and labour market shortages. As the federal government has wound back its COVID-19 economic stimulus packages, further collapses seem inevitable.
Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court has granted an application to wind up a company incorporated in Luxembourg in a decision which sheds light on the application of cross-border insolvency principles following the UK’s departure from the European Union.
Barings (UK) Limited and ors v Galapagos SA [2022] EWHC 1633 (Ch)
What are the practical implications of this case?
In Stream TV Networks, Inc. v. SeeCubic, Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s finding that the board of Stream TV Networks, Inc. (Stream) could sell all of Stream’s assets without a stockholder vote due to Stream’s insolvency. The Delaware Supreme Court found that the sale agreement – in essence, a privately structured foreclosure transaction – constituted an “asset transfer” under Stream’s charter, triggering a class vote provision that required the approval of Stream’s Class B stockholders.
Premise
Since the advent of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), the insolvency law regime in India has been consolidated and uniformized. Courts have repeatedly held that the IBC is a code in itself and that one need not look elsewhere in deciding matters under it.
The corporate insolvency statistics for Q2 2022 paint a worrying picture for UK businesses. With inflation at a 40-year high, fuelled by soaring gas and electricity bills, food prices and wage increases, the cost of living crisis is taking hold across the economy.
Introduction
The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has recently offered additional, useful guidance in the growing jurisprudence on the insolvency of Segregated Portfolio Companies (“SPCs”). We have previously discussed the applicable test of insolvency that applies to the appointment of a receiver in respect of a segregated portfolio (“SP”) of an SPC here.
You can buy assets from an insolvent company (a company that is in a formal insolvency procedure, either administration or liquidation), but the process is slightly different to simply acquiring the business and assets of a solvent trading company.
A prospective buyer should be aware of the structures that could apply to such an acquisition, the key risks that are associated with the acquisition and the compliance issues that need to be overcome before proceeding with the acquisition of business and assets from an insolvent company.
On 27 July 2022, the European Union (Preventative Restructuring) Regulations (the Regulations) were introduced which gave effect to EU Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring and insolvency[1] (the Directive). The Directive’s principal objective is to ensure that all member states have comparable and effective frameworks in place for early warning and prevention of corporate insolvency.
Introduction
This Guide explains the procedure for liquidation proceedings in Guernsey, which are separated into two types: (i) voluntary liquidation and (ii) compulsory liquidation.
Liquidation proceedings
Voluntary liquidation
The provisions for the voluntarily winding up a company under Guernsey law are set out in Part XXII of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (the Law).
Commencement
In the matter of Mr. Praful Nanji Satra v. Vistra ITCL (India) Ltd. & Ors., the Principal Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) observed that insufficiency in payment of stamp duty will not affect admission of corporate insolvency resolution process (“CIRP”) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) for a valid debt.
Brief Facts