A Supreme Court decision has delivered a hefty blow to holders of HIH Holdings (NZ) convertible notes leaving them with little hope of recovering any of their investment.
Summary
In one of the most eagerly awaited appeals to affect the restructuring and insolvency community since MyTravel, the Court of Appeal in the European Directories case ruled on Friday 22 October that:
Does the German restructuring clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA (see our Client Alert of 10 July 2009) conform to European Community law? This will be analyzed by the European Commission which has — by circular of 24 February — announced the initiation of a formal examination procedure (Art. 108 para. 2 TFEU, former Art. 88 para. 2 of the EC Treaty). Already before completion of the formal procedure, corporations with unrestricted and restricted tax liability in Germany may face farreaching consequences.
A. The Restructuring Clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA
Introduction
The German Government is required by the European Commission ("Commission") to seek repayment of €5.2 million in aid from the bicycle group, Biria. The aid comprised two guarantees and “silent participation” (investor received remuneration but no shares) by a public investment company and the German Land of Saxony to subsidiaries within the Biria group. Although Germany argued that the “silent participation” was provided upon market conditions, the Commission did not accept that it met the private market investor test.
The recent Cour de Cassation ruling in respect of the safeguard proceedings opened by Heart of La Défense SAS ("SAS Holdco") and its parent company, Sarl Dame Luxembourg ("Dame"), overturned the earlier decision of the Paris Court of Appeal in February 2010. The decision reinstated the safeguard proceedings of the two companies that were initiated in November 2008.
General remarks
In the case of syndicated loans involving Polish security providers there are two legal concepts that are commonly used to secure the lenders' rights under the finance documents:
Yesterday, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico closed Westernbank Puerto Rico, headquartered in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and the FDIC was appointed receiver.
Introduction
Introduction
The Singapore High Court has confirmed that it will recognize the status and powers of a foreign liquidator in the liquidation of an unregistered foreign company in Singapore.
Life cycle of a company
Statistics from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ("ACRA") of Singapore reveal that the increasing number of companies formed in Singapore (2004:17,151; 2009:26,414) is matched by a corresponding increase in the number of companies ceasing operations (2004:5,882; 2009:22,388).