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India's Bankruptcy Court Admits Insolvency Plea Against Jet Airways

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India’s bankruptcy court, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), yesterday accepted an insolvency petition against Jet Airways Ltd filed by its creditors as they attempt to recover some of their dues, Reuters reported. The insolvency process will allow lenders to sell the company as a whole or in parts, laying out a fixed timeline for a resolution around its future. Jet Airways, once India’s biggest private carrier, stopped flying in April after running out of cash, leaving thousands without jobs and pushing up air fares across the country. The tribunal urged resolution professionals to try and finish the process in three months, and submit fortnightly progress reports, saying that the matter was of national importance.

Brazil Judge Grants Odebrecht Bankruptcy Protection

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A Brazilian judge yesterday granted bankruptcy protection to engineering group Odebrecht, beginning the process of restructuring 51 billion reais ($13 billion) of debt, Reuters reported. Odebrecht, which was laid low by a corruption investigation that has rippled across Latin America, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, kicking off one of Latin America’s largest, in-court debt restructurings. Sao Paulo bankruptcy court Judge João de Oliveira Rodrigues named restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal as the court administrator for Odebrecht and gave the company 60 days to present a restructuring plan for approval by creditors. Judge Rodrigues said in his decision that creditors are not allowed to sell shares in three subsidiaries, which are pledged as collateral. Odebrecht had requested the measure on Monday, arguing that its stakes in petrochemical company Braskem SA, offshore drilling firm Ocyan SA and ethanol unit Atvos are essential for the group’s restructuring.

Brazil's Odebrecht Files for Bankruptcy Protection after Years of Graft Probes

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Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA yesterday filed for bankruptcy protection, aiming to restructure 51 billion reais ($13 billion) of debt in what would be one of Latin America’s largest-ever in-court debt restructurings, Reuters reported. The bankruptcy filing comes after years of struggles for Odebrecht, the biggest of the Brazilian engineering groups caught in a sweeping political corruption investigation that has rippled across Latin America. In the filing, the company asks the judge to bar the group’s seven largest creditors — six banks and an investment fund — from taking possession or selling shares in the group’s crown jewel, its controlling stake in petrochemical company Braskem SA. Shares in Braskem are pledged as collateral to the creditors. But Odebrecht says the Braskem stake is essential to its restructuring, as the petrochemical company was responsible for nearly 80 percent of the conglomerate’s revenues in 2018.

Lenders Seek Jet Airways Bankruptcy in Last-Ditch Sale Effort

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Jet Airways’ creditors said yesterday that they plan to begin insolvency proceedings against the Indian airline in a last-ditch bid to find a buyer for the carrier or its remaining assets and recover some of what they are owed, Reuters reported. Once India’s biggest private carrier, Jet Airways stopped flying in April after running out of cash, leaving thousands without jobs and pushing up air fares across the country. “Lenders have decided to seek resolution under IBC since only a conditional bid was received,” they said in a statement, referring to India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This process will allow Jet’s lenders, led by State Bank of India, to sell the company as a whole or sell its assets piecemeal to maximize recovery for creditors and bring to an end weeks of uncertainty over the airline’s future. Jet and its lenders have been searching for new investors but have failed to agree a proposal.

Creditors Approve Rescue Plan for Topshop Parent

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Arcadia Group Ltd., the London-based operator of Topshop and Topman stores, has won approval of the terms of a broad restructuring plan from a majority of its creditors, including pension trustees, suppliers and landlords, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The fast-fashion retailer will slash what it pays in rent and shut some of its stores under an out-of-court restructuring plan known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). A majority of creditors signed off on the plan during a meeting on Wednesday, which had been pushed back a week to give the company more time to negotiate with landlords. Arcadia initially sought to cut rents by 30 percent to 70 percent across 194 of its more than 500 U.K. and Irish locations over a three-year period. When some landlords balked, the proposed rent cuts were lowered to between 25 percent and 50 percent. The plan also calls for Arcadia to shutter about two dozen stores in the U.K. and all 11 of its stores in the U.S.

U.S. Jury Awards over €18 Million to Sean Dunne’s Bankruptcy Trustee

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A U.S. jury has found against bankrupt Irish property developer Sean Dunne and his estranged wife Gayle Killilea over the illegal transfer of some assets to put them beyond the reach of creditors, the Irish Times reported. Jurors awarded Dunne’s U.S. bankruptcy trustee, Richard Coan, €18.04 million on the fourth day of their deliberations, finding that the developer had fraudulently transferred certain property, cash and other assets to Killilea. The award includes €14 million from the 2013 sale of Walford (Ireland), which Dunne purchased for €58 million eight years before, and a €3.015 million cash transfer from him to Killilea in 2008 from a Credit Suisse account. Transfers of other properties (in North Wall Quay in Dublin) and assets from Dunne to Killilea made up the rest of the award.

Brazil Suspends Operations of Airline Avianca Brasil

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Brazil’s civil aviation regulator ANAC said on Friday that it had suspended all flights and operations of carrier Avianca Brasil in the country as a precautionary measure, following the company’s filing for bankruptcy late last year, Reuters reported. “All the flights are suspended until the company proves it has the capacity to maintain operations safely,” ANAC said in a statement. Avianca Brasil has filed for bankruptcy protection and lost most of its fleet after lessors obtained favorable court decisions to take aircraft back for lack of payments. It is still trying to reach a deal to sell remaining assets. The carrier, which is controlled by the same holding company as publicly traded Colombia-based Avianca Holdings SA, was operating around 30 flights per day using the planes it had left.