Insolvency

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Over a decade after Lehman’s insolvency, the English High Court handed down a key judgement in Grant v FR Acquisitions Corporation (Europe) Ltd [1] on 11 October 2022. The judgement provides commentary on when certain Events of Default have occurred and are “continuing”.

Although the court addressed these issues in the context of interest rate swaps entered into pursuant to an ISDA Master Agreement (the “Transactions”) and the impact of Lehman’s UK entity, LBIE, coming out of administration, the judgement may have implications beyond the derivatives market, for example in the context of financing agreements, corporate documentation, and distressed debt trading, as well as cross-border restructuring or insolvency situations.Continue Reading When Is an Event of Default “Continuing”?

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On September 14, Crowell partners Rick Hyman and Gregory G. Plotko, together with Dawn Haghighi, General Counsel of PVC Murcor, published an article on the Association of Corporate Counsel’s ACC Docket, “Your Counterparty Filed Chapter 11 – Make Sure to Check These 10 Boxes.” The article provides valuable insight for in-house counsel who find themselves…

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Celsius Networks (“Celsius”) became the latest cryptocurrency platform to raise market temperatures by halting all withdrawals, swaps and transfers from and between its customers’ accounts on June 12, 2022. Celsius touted a next wave of “unbanking,” operating a lending platform allowing the holders of digital assets the opportunity to earn a significantly high returns on those assets.  Due, in part, to the lack of regulation, Celsius, and other firms like it, retain wide discretion to use of their customers’ assets and, among other things lend those assets to other platforms at higher rates, enter into complex swap and option transactions that bet on price movements, enter into repo or other lending arrangement to increase yield, or invest in other cryptocurrency projects, all without regulatory constraint. Indeed, it was this broad discretion that led, in part, to the downfall of a similarly situated platform, Cred, Inc., and its ultimate bankruptcy discussed here on Crypto Digest.Continue Reading Celsius Networks’ Warnings Highlight Crypto Bankruptcy Risks

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Given the recent media coverage and growing concerns among investors over the risks associated with a bankruptcy filing of a cryptocurrency exchange, it feels timely to highlight some issues that arose in the Chapter 11 cases of Cred Inc. and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Cred”) also discussed on Crypto Digest.Continue Reading Lessons from Recent Cryptocurrency Bankruptcy Case: Cred, Inc.

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Hot on the heels of crises driven by shortages of carbon dioxide and HGV drivers, it is perhaps the ultimate irony that – in the month before COP 26 in Glasgow – the UK and to a lesser extent much of the rest of the world has been rocked by a series of crises in the fossil fuel driven energy market.  Whilst much of Asia is being impacted by a shortage of coal, Europe is feeling the full effects of a shortage of natural gas.  This is perhaps particularly acute in the UK for a number of reasons including reduced storage capacity, issues with one of the key grid interconnectors to France, and a spike in global demand as the world economy seeks to pick up from where it left off pre-pandemic.  The result?  Eye watering wholesale gas prices that have risen more than double since January 2021, with a 70% increase since August. Prices rocketed a further 37% in one day on 6 October.
Continue Reading Energy Crisis Looms for Business

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By Cathryn Williams, Paul Muscutt and Beth Bradley of the London Crowell Restructuring Team.

The Insolvency Act 1986 (HMRC Debts: Priority on Insolvency) Regulations 2020 (SI 2929/983) (the Regulations) were made on 11 September 2020 and will come into force on 1 December 2020.

As a result of the changes brought about by…

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By Cathryn Williams, Paul Muscutt, Andrew Knight and Beth Bradley

Following our recent post (https://www.restructuringmatters.com/?p=2017&preview=true) on the new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“the Act”), we now take a closer look at the moratorium and the effects on priority between pre-existing and moratorium lenders.

The New Moratorium – an Overview

The moratorium is…

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By Cathryn Williams, Paul Muscutt and Beth Bradley

The full implications of COVID-19 may not be known for some time, but it has had an immediate impact upon UK insolvency law. The government has expedited the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“the Act”) through Parliament in order to support distressed businesses and assist with…

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In these unprecedented times, all businesses will be facing issues they have never encountered before. The disruption caused by the measures imposed to combat the COVID-19 outbreak are significant and wide-reaching, impacting every business and its suppliers, customers, workforce, investors and lenders. At Crowell & Moring, our lawyers across the globe have extensive experience of …