The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, Germany’s plans to grant Air Berlin a temporary €150 million bridging loan. The measure will allow for the orderly winding-down of the insolvent airline without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.
In our update this month we take a look at a case in which a non-party costs order was made against a major shareholder in the insolvent claimant company. The court found that the shareholder was the real party to the litigation; it funded the litigation, it was exercising control over the litigation and it would have been the main beneficiary had the litigation succeeded. We cover this, and other issues affecting the insolvency and fraud industry:
Montpelier Business Reorganisation Ltd v Jones & Others (2017)
Background
Financing and Restructuring July 2017 Cases and transactions Dual financing to build waste management center FLUIDRA: Issuance of promissory notes on MARF Agile process to sell production unit in insolvency proceedings Legislation New rules on prospectuses Regulation coming into force on insolvency proceedings and forms Case law Indirect shareholding and subordination of credit Pledging of VAT credits resistant to insolvency proceedings Concept of group in insolvency proceedings Individual legal standing in syndicated loans Insolvency categorization of loans secured with pledge of credit ri
There is much to admire in the EU's handling of the Italian banking crisis, but in allowing two lenders to escape BRRD rules, it has raised questions on the consistency of the EU state aid and resolution framework.
The Paris office of Hogan Lovells is pleased to provide this English language edition of our monthly e-newsletter, which offers a legal and regulatory update covering France and Europe for June 2017.
Please note that French legal concepts are translated into English for information only and not as legal advice. The concepts expressed in English may not exactly reflect or correspond to similar concepts existing under the laws of the jurisdictions of the readers.
If you would like to consult this newsletter from past months, please click here.
German insolvency law contains provisions that allow for the challenge of payments/securitisation of certain shareholder loans in insolvency proceedings. The reason for this is that under German insolvency law, a loan repayment claim of a shareholder against ‘his’ corporation is subordinated by law (sec. 39 para. 1 no. 5 German Insolvency Code).
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments
Key Point
The High Court decided how the expected surplus assets of Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE) should be distributed between a number of creditors whose claims include subordinated loans, statutory interest and foreign currency conversion losses.
The Facts
On 9 April 2014, the Commission published proposals to amend the existing Shareholder Rights Directive (2007/36/EC).
On 5 November 2013, the European Commission launched a consultation on its proposed new guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (“the draft R&R guidelines”) which will replace the current R&R guidelines adopted in 2004. The revision of the 2004 guidelines was postponed a number of times as a result of the financial crisis, during which the Commission applied a special R&R regime for the financial sector. At the time, the Commission was still considering adopting new R&R rules applicable to both the financial sector and the real economy.