Asset Sales

Hosted by the Asset Sales and Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committees FAs, IBs, RE advisors, attorneys: too many cooks in the kitchen? This panel will discuss the anatomy of the bankruptcy sales process and focus on optimizing value by drawing on the resource skills of attorneys, investment banks, financial advisors and real estate advisors.

This session will highlight particularly interesting case law developments to date in 2017 and their impact on bankruptcy law and practice.

Great Debates Resolved: Passively holding an asset of the estate in the face of a demand for turn-over violates the stay. (I swear, Your Honor, I didn’t do anything!) Resolved: Gift plans violate the Bankruptcy Code and are outlawed by Jevic. (Is it really a birthday without the gifts?) Resolved: A trustee should be permitted to avoid transfers occurring many years prior to the petition date by stepping into the shoes of “special” creditors such as the IRS or the FDIC pursuant to § 544(b). (I’m Baaaack!!!)

This panel will examine the strategies for dealing with unknown claims in chapter 11, the limits that due process places on those strategies, and the impact that the Second Circuit’s recent decision in In re Motors Liquidation may have on those strategies going forward.

Join ABI for its first recreation of the infamous “TED Talks,” with speakers focusing on topics only a bankruptcy guru could love, such as rules of professional conduct, career advice and teaching moments and Safe Harbor for Financial Institutions.

The next evolution of insolvency practice is upon us. The morphing of what started as a restructuring practice into a § 363 sale practice is old news, while the more recent introduction of nontraditional, sophisticated financial investors into the process has brought about another evolution: the debt-to-equity conversion. Why settle for prime and three when you can use Bankruptcy Code provisions like the absolute priority rule and the securities law exemption to come out post-effective date with a freely tradable equity instrument that will enable the holder to share in all of the upside of the reorganized enterprise? This panel will explore the mechanics of a debt-to-equity conversion in the context of a chapter 11 plan in the legal context, then will explain the valuation metrics and allocation calculations that underlie the dynamics as to who gets to participate and the amount of equity offered to the various case constituencies. The discussion will also cover the tools used to spur creditor acceptance of the conversion and uses of the paradigm as a means of raising new capital for the restructured debt, such as backstop agreements and rights offerings.

The strategy of providing funding to troubled companies or purchasing existing secured debt at a discount in order to obtain ownership (so-called “loans-to-own”) continues to inspire controversy and litigation even as its use by debt financiers and other investors has become more commonplace. This panel will explore the practical considerations, business risks and legal issues associated with loans-to-own, both inside and outside of bankruptcy. Discussion on transactions outside of bankruptcy will include the scope of due diligence, intercreditor issues, insider participation, “bankruptcy-proofing,” and the risks and benefits of a “friendly foreclosure.” Discussion on transactions inside of bankruptcy will include using DIP financing to achieve ownership, potential limits on credit bidding, the impact of including or excluding insiders from the post-closing company, and risks presented by remedies such as equitable subordination and involuntary debt recharacterization.

The panel will address the pros and cons of a 363 sale, essential provisions to include in your bidding procedures and hot topics in 363 sales including credit bidding, reopening an auction, consigned goods, sale of customer information and successor liability.

This session will discuss (1) selecting a trust, LLC, plan administrator or other vehicle; (2) ensuring that affirmative claims are preserved post-confirmation; (c) establishing a value/tax basis in litigation claims and other assets transferred to a trust or LLC; (d) key plan provisions such as preserving 2004 discovery rights, creditor oversight, continuing court oversight, required reporting and the retention/transfer of the attorney/client privilege; (e) the trading of interests; (f) provisions for closing the case; and (g) structured dismissals following asset sales as an alternative to a liquidating plan (Jevic). Is it preferable to liquidate outside of chapter 11?