1. What is distressed M&A?

WHOA Dutch scheme of arrangement LAW & TAX I Introduction 1. This memorandum describes the bill on court sanctioning private composition to avoid bankruptcy (de Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord ter voorkoming van faillissement, the WHOA or the Dutch Scheme). The WHOA introduces the possibility in the Netherlands for companies to offer a composition to its creditors outside an insolvency proceeding.1 The WHOA will enter into force on 1 January 2021. II The WHOA II.1 Offering a composition: by whom? 2.

Introduction

Het zijn rare tijden. Thuiswerken is de norm geworden. Geen potjes tafeltennis met collega’s, geen gespreken bij het koffieapparaat en een virtuele kennissessie of virtuele vrijdagmiddagborrel is het toch net niet. Gelukkig zijn er ook dingen die wel hetzelfde zijn gebleven: de bestuurdersaansprakelijkheidsupdates van Ploum bij aanvang van een nieuw kwartaal.

Van de lasten onder dwangsom aan Alvat (1997) en DIT (2013) tot het kostenverhaal op Bavin (2014) en North Refinery (2019), de handhaving van milieurecht in faillissementssituaties blijft een uitdaging voor gemeenten, provincies en omgevingsdiensten. De rechtbank Rotterdam wil nu een einde maken aan alle onduidelijkheid.

Op 26 mei 2020 heeft de Tweede Kamer het wetsvoorstel Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord (WHOA) aangenomen. De Eerste Kamer heeft het voorstel op 6 oktober 2020 als hamerstuk afgedaan. De verwachting is dat de WHOA op 1 januari 2021 in werking zal treden.

About a year ago the Dutch Court of Appeal* – confirming the decision of the primary relief judge - rendered an interesting judgment in the field of asset recovery. Currently the case is pending before the Supreme Court. Recently the Advocate General rendered its Advisory Opinion in which he advises the Supreme Court to confirm this decision of the Court of Appeal, and also to clarify its case law regarding immunity from execution.

Introduction

The current Dutch Bankruptcy Code dates back to 1893 when it was first enacted, has aged nicely and still functions well despite the now existing international financial markets and complex financial instruments that could not have been imagined 127 years ago. Although many changes were made since its inception, the Dutch Bankruptcy Code has never had a major overhaul, even though many initiatives were launched over the years.

On Tuesday 6 October 2020 the Dutch Senate adopted the long-awaited legislative proposal for the Act providing for court confirmation of a private restructuring plan (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord (“WHOA”)). The act introducing the 'Dutch scheme' will enter into force in the beginning of next year at the latest.

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.