Canadian tech companies have entered uncharted waters, with a range of factors threatening to produce a liquidity crunch for many of them.
For years, the tech sector enjoyed record volumes of venture capital investment fueled by low interest rates, an inflow of foreign and corporate investment, and the collective desire to create a vibrant tech ecosystem in Canada. As the economic tides have changed, with climbing interest rates and a looming recession, tech companies are facing an increasingly tough fundraising environment.
Where the key asset of a technology start up is a potential entitlement to an R&D tax refund, the Spitfire decision provides important clarity for financiers of such businesses, as well as for liquidators (and employees) of those businesses which fail.
Restructuring a Multinational Corporation to Optimize Profitability and Efficiency A Case Study By Owen D. Kurtin Kurtin PLLC, New York, NY 2022 Revised Edition T:212.554.3373|E: [email protected] | W:kurtinlaw.com 2 The TO Project A few years ago, I was asked to serve as lead outside legal counsel to a U.S.-basedpublic corporationinanindustrialbusiness sector withoperations in over thirty countries in the reorganization of its global corporate structure and operations.
COVID-19
Government Intervention Schemes
Current as of 21 May 2021
Government Intervention Schemes
COVID-19 Government Intervention Schemes 2
Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guide provides a summary of key government interventions around the globe in relation to: EU State Aid Approvals (for EMEA region), foreign investment restrictions, debt, equity and taxation.
The Austrian Insolvency Code provides for the possibility to challenge certain disadvantageous transactions carried out by the debtor after material insolvency has occurred, especially if the creditor knew or should have known of its debtor's material insolvency. This risk of legal actions being contested is of particularly high relevance for shareholders who are also creditors of the debtor company, as the Austrian Supreme Court recently decided that shareholders' information rights would result in an increased level of due diligence.
As the COVID scourge continues its march across the lives and livelihoods of Canadian individuals and businesses, the federal government has broken the glass and deployed into the economy a historically unprecedented amount of emergency funding in an effort to provide a financial bridge through the crisis to affected enterprises.
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments
Venture capitalists will invest in lots of portfolio companies to look for the next Apple or Google. In many such investments, venture capital investors will only hold a minority share, which do not give them control over the portfolio companies' daily operation. In such cases, most investors believe that to lose the amount of invested capital will be the worst case if such investments turn out to be a failure given the "limited liability" rule under PRC Company Law.
In a recent case, BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & others, the High Court was asked to consider the circumstances in which the directors of a company are required to consider the interests of creditors and the extent to which the payment of a dividend by a company can be susceptible to challenge under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986).
Scenario: