Chul Man Kim, Sun Kyoung Kim, Sy Nae Kim and Woo Suk Jung, Yulchon LLC
This is an extract from the 2022 edition of GRR's the Asia-Pacific Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.
In summary
In a recent ruling, the Austrian Supreme Court has defined de facto managing directors and their obligations and liabilities in connection to wrongful trading.
The decision
The key takeaways from the ruling are:
The single proceeding model, which is a core tenet in insolvency proceedings, was recently reaffirmed in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) proceedings of Bloom Lake in Re Bloom Lake, 2021 QCCS 3402.
The abolition of the "peak indebtedness" rule will complicate liquidators' tasks, not least its adverse effect on pursuing preferences where it's unclear what forms the single transaction.
Our research shows rescue financing in Australia has been deployed as one element of a broader restructuring strategy, most commonly by an existing stakeholder, rather than as a profitable activity in itself.
As participants in the Australian debt restructuring market continue to innovate we expect to see an increase in these control transactions, testing further again the Australian statutory regimes.
The Virgin sale shows the flexibility of Australia's restructuring regime and sets a significant judicial precedent for future control transactions.
Virgin Airlines restructured through voluntary administration
On 20 April 2020, Virgin Australia and a number of its subsidiaries were placed into voluntary administration owing $7 billion of debt to around 12,000 creditors with partners at Deloitte Australia being appointed as joint and several voluntary administrators of Virgin. Clayton Utz was appointed to act for the Administrators.
In Re HNA Group Co Limited[2021] HKCFI 2897, the Hong Kong Court recognised for the first time reorganisation proceedings commenced under the Mainland Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (“Mainland Reorganisation Proceedings”).
On October 5, 2021, CalPlant I Holdco, LLC, which manufactures alternative-source, medium-density fiberboard in its Willows, California facility, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-11303). The company reports $100 to 500 million in assets and liabilities.