Regional news: Germany
Galapagos declaratory trial kicks off in London
A two-week trial is under way in London to consider the validity of the Galapagos group’s heavily contested 2019 restructuring, which left its private equity shareholder in place and high yield noteholders with nothing – and a German insolvency administrator has already asked the court not to make any findings of fact because they could result in inconsistent rulings across Europe.
10 March 2023
Adler noteholder lodges Frankfurt suit challenging note issuer substitution
A noteholder of German real estate group Adler has lodged a complaint in a Frankfurt regional court, challenging the group’s substitution of an English subsidiary as note issuer to pursue an English restructuring plan.
09 March 2023
Adler convening judgment sheds light on cross-border, cross-class questions left to sanction stage
Mr Justice Mann has issued his reasons for deciding to let German real estate group Adler convene six UK plan meetings while postponing certain key issues to the sanction stage – including a point about “artificiality” of voting classes that the judge confessed he did not really understand.
27 February 2023
Adler secures UK plan meetings for six creditor classes
German real estate group Adler has persuaded an English judge to let it hold plan meetings for six creditor classes next month, leaving complaints over the substitution of the notes’ issuer for a UK subsidiary to the sanction stage – but a bondholder has already stated it will “imminently” pursue similar complaints in a German court.
24 February 2023
Adler amends lock-up agreement ahead of plan hearing
German real estate group Adler has amended a lock-up agreement it entered last November to encourage more senior unsecured creditors to commit nearly €1 billion in fresh funding, ahead of a convening hearing for its English restructuring plan.
20 February 2023
Kirkland adds “well-known” restructuring leader in Frankfurt
Clifford Chance’s German restructuring group leader Cristina Weidner has joined Kirkland & Ellis to lead its practice in the region, bringing with her experience working on some of the largest cross-border restructurings in Europe over the last 15 years.
16 February 2023
Community round-up: global lateral moves in January
Allen & Overy and Akin Gump have hired in Europe, Gibson Dunn has recruited a Jones Day partner in New York and Teneo has secured two London-based managing directors from Interpath.
03 February 2023
Germany’s highest court finds Dusseldorf has jurisdiction over Galapagos proceedings
Contradicting an earlier English ruling, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has found that heat exchange group Galapagos’ insolvency proceedings and disputes relating to them belong in Dusseldorf post-Brexit, and not in London where the group was wound up in June.
02 February 2023
Adler ad hoc noteholder group proposes alternative restructuring
UPDATED: A noteholder group that blocked a consensual agreement that would have seen German real estate group Adler receive US$1 billion in fresh funding has published an alternative to the company’s English restructuring plan, which it claims would provide the group with more stability.
31 January 2023
German car parts maker Leoni reappoints pandemic CRO after failed sale
Latham & Watkins and Hengeler Mueller are advising German automotive wiring manufacturer Leoni as it reinstates a chief restructuring officer it relied on during the pandemic, following the failed disposal of a subsidiary that jeopardised its 2022 restructuring plan.
20 January 2023