Seventh Circuit: Transfers of Nonpublic Securities Are Protected by the 546(e) Safe Harbor
The Seventh Circuit adopted a broad reading of the Section 546(e) safe harbor to dismiss a fraudulent transfer suit attacking a sale of nonpublic securities.
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Session Description
The focus of the panel would be to identify uniquely Canadian distressed deal structures and litigation techniques that could be imported to the American restructuring practice. Would cover developments from coast to coast by including at least 3 Canadian practitioners from the West Coast, Central Canada and Quebec would be selected once the audience was determined. For example key points would be: could you get a reverse vesting order under Chapter 11?
Suggested Categories
Learning Outcomes
Practictioners will learn new techniques and strategies unique to Canada.
Target Audience
Business
First Name
Natasha
Last Name
MacParland
Email
nmacparland@dwpv.com
Firm
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Session Description
Because bankruptcy attorneys are being asked to find non-bankruptcy solutions more and more, to avoid the expense of full-blown bankruptcy, I would love to develop competencies in areas just adjacent to our normal practice area.
Article 9 sales are one area that are so close. I would love to know more.
Article 9 sales are one area that are so close. I would love to know more.
Suggested Categories
Learning Outcomes
From understanding the goals of private equity/private finance to understanding the nuts and bolts of service requirements, potential litigation tactics that may come in to play after the fact with creditors, to traps for the unwary, I think there is a lot to cover here.
Target Audience
Business
First Name
Jennifer
Last Name
McLemore
Email
jmclemore@williamsmullen.com
Firm
Williams Mullen
Session Description
With large cities contemplating or trying to create "reimagined downtowns" following drastic declines in commercial tenancies, and drastic increases in un-used or under-utilized downtown/urban buildings, property owners may need to adapt to potential re-uses of their commercial properties, which may or may not include Bankruptcy Court involvement by way of landlord and/or tenant bankruptcies. This panel will address the practical and legal aspects of "reimagined downtowns," including with predictions on what cities will try to do to reinvigorate their downtowns over the next few years.
Suggested Categories
Learning Outcomes
Participates will understand how landlords, tenants, landlords' lenders, and cities view their respective strengths and weaknesses, and may be able to work together to achieve best outcomes, in the current situation affecting urban commercial properties.
Target Audience
Creditor
Gregg
Ficks
gficks@coblentzlaw.com
First Name
Gregg
Last Name
Ficks
Email
gficks@coblentzlaw.com
Firm
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
Diocese of Buffalo Announces Sale of Headquarters to Pay Sex Abuse Victims
The Diocese of Buffalo in New York has announced the sale of its headquarters in downtown Buffalo nearly four years after it declared bankruptcy amid hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against it, CatholicNewsAgency.com reported. The diocese announced in Western New York Catholic this week that “the Catholic Center, the diocesan central office building since 1986, has been listed for sale” for $9.8 million. In 2020, the diocese formally filed for chapter 11 protection. At the time the diocese said it was acting to provide the most compensation for victims of clergy sex abuse while continuing the day-to-day work of its Catholic mission. Diocesan officials announced in October of last year that the diocese would be putting forth $100 million to settle the numerous abuse claims lodged against it.
NYCB Sells Some Loans for Gains, Aims to Add Signature into Financial Reporting
New York Community Bancorp has sold some loans for gains and was working to integrate collapsed lender, Signature Bank, into its financial reporting process, it said in its annual report yesterday, Reuters reported. Its first quarter will include the sale of consumer loans worth $899 million on March 13 and a commercial co-operative loan in late February as the lender works to cut exposure to the beleaguered commercial real estate (CRE) sector. Several Wall Street analysts have flagged concerns that the turnaround could take a long time as profit remains under pressure from its efforts to boost reserves for potential bad loans. NYCB had earlier this month said that it was getting interest from non-bank bidders for some of its loans and would outline a new business plan in April while once again cutting its dividend and disclosing a 7% drop in deposits. The lender also named Joseph Otting, former Comptroller of the Currency in the Trump administration, as CEO as part of a $1 billion capital injection from a group of investors that included former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Another Circuit Says Creditors Take Appreciation When a ‘13’ Case Converts to ‘7’
The Eighth Circuit aligned with the Ninth Circuit by holding that postpetition appreciation in a home belongs to creditors when a chapter 13 case converts to chapter 7.
BowFlex Files for Bankruptcy With Deal to be Acquired by Johnson Health Tech
Home-fitness company BowFlex has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with a deal in hand to be acquired by specialty fitness retailer Johnson Health Tech, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. BowFlex today said that it has secured a commitment for $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing that will allow the Vancouver, Wash., company to continue operating in a normal course and to fulfill customer orders during the bankruptcy process. Taiwan’s Johnson Health Tech will act as the stalking horse, or lead, bidder in a court-supervised auction for BowFlex with a bid of $37.5 million in cash for substantially all of the company’s assets. BowFlex said that multiple parties have indicated an interest in bidding for the company. Johnson Health Tech, whose fitness brands include Matrix, Horizon Fitness and Vision Fitness, operates more than 460 locations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. BowFlex said that it initiated the chapter 11 proceeding in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
Essence in Talks to Buy Refinery29 From Embattled Publisher Vice Media
Essence Magazine’s parent company is in talks to acquire Vice Media’s women’s lifestyle site Refinery29, the Wall Street Journal reported. The price being discussed couldn’t be learned but Essence would likely pay a fraction of the $400 million Vice paid in cash and stock when it bought Refinery29 in 2019. News of the discussions, which could still fall apart, comes just days after Vice’s largest shareholder, Fortress Investment Group, said it would stop publishing content on the company’s namesake site, Vice.com, and was laying off hundreds of staffers. Vice Media was once valued at $5.7 billion and was among the most promising digital-media ventures, but has struggled to stay afloat. Fortress, which took over Vice in bankruptcy last year, is now focusing on its remaining assets, which include its production studio, TV network and ad agency Virtue.
FTX Gets Bankruptcy Court Approval to Sell Shares in AI Startup Anthropic
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX received court approval to sell its stake in Anthropic, an artificial-intelligence startup in which Amazon.com and Google late last year agreed to invest billions of dollars, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge John Dorsey in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Wilmington, Del. approved the sale on Thursday after FTX reached a compromise with a group of customers who had objected to the sale. FTX invested $500 million in Anthropic in 2021 and holds a stake of about 7.8% in the company. In a court filing earlier this month, FTX said that “given the increased interest in AI and large language models, there has been significant appreciation in the value of the Anthropic shares.” In September, Amazon said it would be investing up to $4 billion in Anthropic. And in October, Google agreed to invest up to $2 billion in Anthropic, building on its earlier investment in the AI company. By getting approval for the sale procedures, FTX said it can unload the shares at “the most optimal and appropriate time.” Read more. (Subscription required.)
In related news, the FTX estate has agreed to drop a lawsuit that sought to claw back at least $323.5 million from the original owners of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange’s European unit, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Under a proposed settlement, the two main targets of the lawsuit—FTX Europe co-founders Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke—agreed to buy back the unit’s assets for $32.7 million. Details of the proposed settlement emerged in a Thursday court filing from the FTX estate. The deal still needs to be approved by a judge. The proposed settlement marks a retreat by the FTX bankruptcy estate, led by Chief Executive John J. Ray III. The suit against the former owners of the European unit was one of around a dozen lawsuits filed by FTX seeking to claw back billions of dollars from former FTX insiders and companies that did business with FTX under the leadership of its former CEO and founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. In recent months, the rising value of cryptocurrencies and FTX’s stake in artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic have made it less imperative for the estate to claw back funds. A lawyer for FTX said in court in January that the estate expected to repay customers in full. Filed in July, FTX’s lawsuit alleged that Bankman-Fried massively overpaid for Digital Assets DA AG, the Swiss firm that became FTX Europe, when FTX bought it for more than $376 million in a series of transactions in 2020 and 2021. At the time, Bankman-Fried was eager for his crypto exchange to become licensed in the European Union. Read more. (Subscription required.)
