一、概述

1、不寻常的SPAC

SPAC（“Special Purpose Acquisition Company”）是上市公司投资工具，也被称为 “空头支票”或 “空壳公司”。 SPAC由在投资、财务和企业管理领域具有丰富经验的专业人士作为发起人设立，其设立目的是在某些行业或地域中收购某个不特定的经营性企业。SPAC将在设立之后，即开始通过首次公开发行（“IPO”）由普通股和认股权证组成的证券进行募资。SPAC的证券在证券交易所挂牌并公开交易。

SPAC必须在IPO完成后的18-24个月内找到目标公司（“目标公司”）并完成企业兼并，否则将主动清算，且IPO的募资将退还给公众股东。如已确定目标公司并完成企业兼并，则SPAC将与目标公司合并成立为一间新公司（“存续公司”），存续公司将成为SPAC的承继实体并继续作为上市公司存续。

2、SPAC市场

On 29 September 2020, the Federal Court of Australia published its much anticipated decision in Habrok (Dalgaranga) Pty Ltd v Gascoyne Resources Ltd [2020] FCA 1395, dismissing Habrok’s attempt to set aside a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA). The DOCA had been the culmination of a 15 month administration, and facilitated the recapitalisation, refinance, and relisting of the gold miner Gascoyne Resources Ltd (GCY) and its subsidiaries (together with GCY, the GCY Group).

1. What is distressed M&A?

In recent years, market participants have watched with interest from across the Atlantic as U.S. out-of-court liability management and restructuring transactions moved material assets out of the creditors' collateral pools, to enhance liquidity, to raise additional debt or to extend the maturity of existing debt. Many have wondered when these sort of transactions will reach European shores.

That moment has now arrived.

INTRODUCTION

A short week this week due to the public holiday in Western Australia.

This is a service specifically targeted at the needs of busy non-executive directors. We aim to give you a “heads up” on the things that matter for NEDs in the week ahead – all in two minutes or less.

In Short

The Situation: In Australia, the Takeovers Panel ("Panel") is the primary forum for hearing disputes in relation to takeover bids and other corporate control transactions involving public companies. In light of the current COVID-19-led financial distress being experienced by many companies, understanding when the Panel will be the appropriate forum to consider disputes in relation to a company in administration is important. This question arose in the course of the current Virgin Australia Group administration.

Foreign Investment Reviews of Distressed Assets

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, 3,600 companies filed Chapter 11 in the first half of 2020. Chapter 11 filings for 2020 are on pace to eclipse any year since 2012. During the same period, businesses worldwide sold $2.1 trillion of bonds, up 50 percent from 2019, according to the July 17, 2020 New York Times.

Following the global implementation of stay-at-home orders in response to the novel coronavirus, businesses suffered unprecedented declines in demand. As the United States struggles to reign in the contagion, a number of household names – from Chuck E. Cheese to J.C. Penney – have filed for bankruptcy. Logically, distressed M&A transactions should rise as corporations struggle under historic levels of debt, but who is poised to take advantage of a boom in distressed M&A, what are the new realities of distressed M&A and how will these transactions proceed?

Australia has now entered its first recession in 29 years, and the Australian Government has implemented a number of legislative reforms and other initiatives to support and provide temporary relief to businesses, including stimulus payments, enhanced asset write-off and flexibility in the application of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).