Whether—and in what circumstances—a debtor should pay creditors a make-whole premium continues to be litigated in bankruptcy courts. Last week, as reported by Bloomberg, Judge Dorsey (Delaware) ruled that the debtor – Mallinckrodt Plc – did not need to pay a make whole premium to first lien lenders in order to reinstate such obligations under the debtor’s chapter 11 plan.
The UK's latest quarterly company insolvency statistics, published on 29 October, suggest that the unexpectedly calm seas seen over the last 18 months (and maintained by unprecedented government economic support) may be starting to give way to stormier waters as corporate insolvencies begin to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Alex Jay, Head of Insolvency and Asset Recovery, discusses how companies can protect themselves from rising insolvency risks as businesses begin to emerge from the pandemic and commercial pressure increases.
Insolvency risk can affect businesses and individuals in a number of ways. Markets can turn rapidly – think for example of the recent spate of energy company failures – and can catch you off guard.
Contents Living in a COVID-19 World Most of us have stopped asking, “When will it be over?” and have started wondering how we can live with COVID-19 – and how it will change our behaviour from now on. In the context of restructuring, as we saw during the recent Canadian federal election, bankruptcy and insolvency have become topics of increased interest in political and wider circles. This might mean we can expect a greater focus on regulatory reform in this area.
The decision raises new questions about whether cross-border insolvency recognition and assistance between mainland China and Hong Kong will be a two-way street.
On 16 September 2021, the Hong Kong Court made an unprecedented ruling by recognising, for the first time, proceedings for the reorganisation of the HNA Group Co Limited (‘Company‘) commenced in Mainland China under the Mainland Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (‘Mainland Reorganisation Proceedings’) (Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897).
The Hong Kong Court has broken yet more new ground by recognising Mainland reorganisation proceedings for the first time in Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897.
UK REIT Horizon Scanner Q4 2021
UK REIT Horizon Scanner Q4 2021
Key Issues
Key issues coming up for UK Main Market REITs in corporate, financial regulatory, planning, real estate, securities law and regulation and tax1 in England (including retained EU law2).
Issue/status/timing: New developments since our March 2021 edition are shown in green text. Impact: urgency/impact rating for REITs admitted to London Stock Exchange Main Market (including the Specialist Fund Segment3)
Whilst this article has been in the pipeline for some time, the timing of its publication is somewhat apt following the administration of NMCN Plc on 4 October 2021. DWF wishes all those NMCN employees well and hope that they find alternative employment soon. We also hope that the direct and indirect consequences of the administration are not too harshly or widely felt amongst other colleagues in the industry.
Hajime Ueno, Masaru Shibahara and Hiroki Nakamura, Nishimura & Asahi
This is an extract from the 2022 edition of GRR's the Asia-Pacific Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.
In summary