The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, which received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020, contains a range of significant reforms, not least of which is the introduction of a new Restructuring Plan process dubbed the Super Scheme. The first such Restructuring Plan, used in the financial restructuring of Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA), was sanctioned by the High Court on 2 September 2020 representing a new landmark in the UK restructuring landscape.
On 29 September 2020, the Dutch Senate’s justice committee decided that the Dutch Scheme bill can be dealt with as a formality (hamerstuk) without further debate. It did so after the Dutch Government submitted to the Dutch Senate’s justice committee its memorandum of reply (Memorie van Antwoord) regarding the Dutch Scheme, or to use the full title: the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (commonly referred to as the WHOA, after its Dutch acronym). This blog highlights the various topics covered in the memorandum of reply.
What have we been up to?
The days and nights may well be getting noticeably cooler, but as a team we remain very much at simmer point in terms of the demands of newlyacquired business support and insolvency work and staying on top of recent legislative changes.
Amongst this month's work highlights have been:
(In Provisional Liquidation in Bermuda)
We recently acted for the joint provisional liquidators of Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group (“the Company”) appointed by the Supreme Court of Bermuda in a conventional application for the recognition of the Bermuda soft-touch provisional liquidation of the Company
The Company was incorporated in Bermuda and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with operating subsidiaries in Mainland China.
- At the 11th hour the Government has, effective today, 29 September, extended some (but not all) of the temporary provisions (which were due to expire on 30 September 2020) introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA” or “the 2020 Act”): see here.
本所最近为百慕大最高法院委任的稀镁科技集团（简称“公司”）联合临时清盘人，就公司软性临时清盘常规申请提供法律服务。
在百慕达注册成立，于中国香港联交所上市，并在中国大陆设有营运附属公司。
根据惯例，香港商事法庭会在符合某些标准的情况下认可外国破产管理人员。在香港，藉由请求函申请支持认可与协助已很普遍，更多会以书面提交的方式处理，并以符合香港法院认可和协助命令标准格式的形式起草命令。
在本案申请中，有些方面与标准命令略有不同（如请求书中有关段落所示），并现特别指出如下：
- 临时清盘人的某些权力仅在公司同意下方可行使（香港认可令第 2(k)、2(m) 及 2(n) 段）。
- 临时清盘人被授予在某些交易中接收预备材料和征求其意见的权力（香港认可令第 2(q) 段）—— 这是一项新的权力，并未见于标准命令。
虽然香港商事法庭已采用标准命令，而香港的临时清盘人所寻求的权力应与之一致，但可能会存在要求采用略有不同的条款，以便按个案情况更好适用，促进重组的情况。
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 has introduced a new standalone moratorium procedure for companies.1 The moratorium is part of a package of significant legislative reforms contained in the Act, intended to enhance the UK’s restructuring rescue culture. These were originally consulted on between 2016 and 2018 and were fast-tracked to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overview
In a pair of private exchange offers consummated in May 2020, airport operating companies owned by Corporacin Amrica Airports S.A. (NYSE: CAAP) in Argentina and Uruguay were able to restructure their existing debt securities in order to withstand the substantial revenue declines associated with the drop-off in air travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19").
The Bottom Line
The Third Circuit, in Artesanias Hacienda Real S.A. de C.V. v. N. Mill Capital, LLC (In re Wilton Armetale, Inc.), 968 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 2020), issued a decision with potential implications for creditors who wish to pursue causes of action after a bankruptcy trustee refuses to act on such claims. The Third Circuit held that if a bankruptcy trustee clearly abandons a cause of action, the right of creditors to pursue that cause of action “spring[s] back to life.”
What Happened?