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Proper Music Group, the Swiss company formerly known as Utopia Music, has been hit with bankruptcy proceedings in Swiss court after the group failed to attend a court hearing related to a debt of 23,000 Swiss Francs ($27,360), Digital Music News reported. The provisional announcement of bankruptcy was filed on Tuesday, September 24. “We are disappointed that bankruptcy proceedings have been triggered.
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Germany's finance minister has conveyed to Italy's Treasury his concerns about any takeover of Commerzbank by Italian lender UniCredit, two people familiar with the matter said, as Berlin looks to halt a hostile deal, Reuters reported. Christian Lindner outlined his position to the Treasury — Italy's economy and finance ministry, led by Giancarlo Giorgetti — in tandem with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's public criticism this week of UniCredit's move to become the biggest investor in its German rival.
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It has not been a particularly good year for airlines that declare bankruptcy: Air Malta, Armenia's FlyArna, Britain's Flybe, Canada's Lynx Air and Jetlines — and Antigua and Barbuda's LIAT — are just some of the airlines that ceased operations entirely in 2024, The Street reported. A number of other names have also filed for bankruptcy protection while continuing to work with creditors on plans that would allow them to stay afloat. In June 2024, the United Caribbean Airlines B.V. and JetAir Caribbean B.V.
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Councillors have voted in favour of calling for a public inquiry into how a local authority amassed £1.5bn in debt, the BBC reported. The motion brought to Thurrock Council, in Essex, passed almost unanimously and was backed by Labour and most Conservatives on Thursday evening. A previous inquiry request was rejected by the Conservative government in April, despite votes from 1,500 residents to call one. Labour council leader John Kent said the government had been "oblivious" to the borrowing Thurrock was making.
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Stuart Preston and Julie Tait, the joint administrators of Signal Real Estate Opportunities Investco IX SARL, have applied to the Outer House for directions under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, Scottish Legal reported. While it was noted that concurrent insolvency proceedings in two jurisdictions were not uncommon, confusion arose as to the effect of the Luxembourg procedure in light of a potential co-operation agreement drafted by the noters and the receiver in bankruptcy. The note was considered by Lord Sandison, with DM Thomson KC and Boffey, advocate, appearing for the noters.
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A court in Seoul suspended the rehabilitation process of the Korean Federation of Film Producers (KFA), the organization behind the Grand Bell Awards, South Korea’s oldest film awards ceremony, The Chosun Daily reported. This development raises uncertainty about whether the ceremony will take place later this year. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court decided to revoke the KFA’s court-ordered small business reorganization KFA’s on Sept. 26, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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Liquidators of debt-laden China Evergrande are still in talks with a potential buyer to sell a stake in the electric vehicle arm of the company with a view to provide a new credit line to support production, Reuters reported. In its initial days, the electric vehicle (EV) maker aimed to take on Tesla and had a market valuation higher than Ford Motor, but it has since been mired in the debt crisis engulfing its property developer parent.
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Australia's central bank on Thursday cautioned borrowers against taking on excessive debt when interest rates start to fall and risking a boom/bust cycle, though it judged the financial system remained resilient overall, Reuters reported. In its semi-annual Financial Stability Review, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) again highlighted the resilience of households, businesses and banks in the face of decade-high interest rates and painful inflation.
While the ATO and major banks are still major drivers of insolvencies, insolvency firms are beginning to see more closures triggered by cash flow issues, the Accounting Times (Australia) reported. The latest credit risk data from Alares suggests that the rate of insolvencies had eased slightly in August despite insolvency numbers remaining 33 per cent above average. In its insights report, Alares said that this could suggest that the “insolvency catch-up” could finally begin to slow down. Alares said the ATO remains the dominant driver of the insolvency catch-up.
Germany’s government decided to keep its stake in Commerzbank until further notice, after a sale of a portion of its shares to Italy’s UniCredit sparked speculation about a potential takeover, The Wall Street Journal reported. The German government — the biggest shareholder in Commerzbank — said Friday that it won’t offload any additional shares in the bank following the sale to UniCredit for 702 million euros ($783.5 million) completed last week, which reduced its ownership to 12% from 16.49%.