Headlines

Manolete Partners, which focuses on taking over claims from liquidators of insolvent companies, is the latest litigation funder to weigh up a float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the Law Society Gazette reported. Chief executive Steven Cooklin confirmed to the Gazette this morning that the London-based company was ‘looking very seriously’ at listing. It has not revealed any financial details of the proposed float.

Lakshadweep, a joint venture between Sudhir Valia-led Suraksha ARC and Dosti Realty, will look at “improving” its bid for Jaiprakash Infrastructure (JIL) if an opportunity is afforded to it, sources close to the development told FE. The firm has already conveyed its intent to the resolution professional and the lenders to the troubled real estate company, the sources added.

Sears Canada Inc. pension plan members are facing bleak prospects for getting their full pension payouts, according to a Toronto bankruptcy lawyer, Benefits Canada reported. “They won’t be made whole, regardless of how we look at this,” says Lou Brzezinski, a partner at Blaney McMurty LLP.

Almost a year of claims, counterclaims and litigation is beginning to wind down for Dana Gas PJSC bondholders, including BlackRock Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Sharjah, United Arab Emirates-based energy company reached a deal with its key bondholders on restructuring $700 million of sukuk, avoiding protracted litigation in two jurisdictions and ending a dispute that fixated the Islamic finance industry, Bloomberg News reported. A committee representing bondholders agreed on terms that offer two options to creditors, including one involving full repayment, the company said Sunday.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA made progress toward a turnaround after its Italian state rescue, relying on cost cuts and lower bad-debt provisions to swing to an unexpected profit, Bloomberg News reported. The stock rose the most since November. First quarter net income at the Siena-based lender totaled 188 million euros ($224 million) compared with a 169 million-euro loss a year earlier. That beat the average analyst estimate of a 40.5 million-euro loss.

India’s new bankruptcy law is being bogged down by bitter court room disputes that include the likes of ArcelorMittal and the Tata Group -- jeopardizing the law’s promise of time-bound resolution in a country famous for its sluggish legal system, Bloomberg News reported. None of the 12 large debtor companies that the central bank forced into bankruptcy court in June have been sold yet. The National Company Law Tribunal or NCLT, in charge of the process, has extended a 270-day deadline enshrined in the law for Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. and Essar Steel India Ltd.

Carillion Plc, the failed U.K. outsourcing company, has been criticized by lawmakers investigating its collapse for misclassifying borrowings, Bloomberg News reported. As much as 498 million pounds ($674 million) of Carillion’s liabilities were incorrectly identified as “other creditors,” the U.K. Parliament Work and Pensions Committee said in a statement on Monday, citing estimates from Moody’s. Carillion’s board had discussed the issue in 2015, attributing mounting short-selling of the company’s shares to UBS Group AG broker research highlighting issues with its debt, the committee said.

Argentina’s latest capitulation may have helped to keep Turkey out of the headlines in recent weeks but some believe the latter’s banking sector could ultimately provide the most dramatic fireworks, the Financial Times reported. When a country has loaded up on foreign currency-denominated debt, the last thing it wants to see is a plunge in its own currency. Unfortunately, Turkey has seen just that, with the lira slumping 12.6 per cent against the dollar since mid-February. A look at the country’s metrics is sobering.

The pressure on the Argentine peso showed no sign of letting up on Friday, with the currency sinking to a new low even after the country bit the bullet and turned to the IMF for help in stabilising the economy, the Financial Times reported. The peso slumped 5.4 per cent to 24.00 in early trade, according to Thomson Reuters data. The country’s benchmark Merval stock market snapped a two-day winning streak to trade 2.8 per cent lower, while the country’s century bond slipped again to trade at just a little over 87 cents on the dollar.

Customers of collapsed UK brokerage Beaufort Securities have voted in favour of retaining PwC as administrator and accepted its proposals to use up to £100m of private investors’ funds to pay insolvency fees, following a fiery creditors’ meeting on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. PwC confirmed on Friday that clients of the broker, which was shut down by the UK regulator in March, had voted in favour of its proposals, which include a worst-case scenario of spending £100m to return cash and assets valued at £550m to customers.