Cooperation agreements are a new tool for distressed debtholders seeking to negotiate from a position of unity and strength. These agreements can also help debtholders defend themselves against a growing opportunistic...more
Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David taught us that you can’t double dip a chip—“it’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip.” However, the credit markets have recently been focused on a different type of double dip, one...more
Introduction On August 24, 2023, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”) decided Kirschner v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., addressing the issue of whether notes issued as part...more
On July 6, 2022, the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware delivered an opinion recognizing the effectiveness of an “uptiering” transaction—whereby a subset of an issuer’s existing noteholders are issued new notes...more
On October 9, 2020, a group of first lien lenders filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Boardriders, Inc., a California-based surfing and skateboarding apparel company and its equity sponsor, challenging a...more
Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC (“Serta”) offers one of the latest examples of a creative borrower utilizing flexibility in its credit agreement terms to access new liquidity at the expense of its existing senior lenders. Serta is...more
Recently, the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York held in Kirschner v. J.P. Morgan that a syndicated term loan was not a “security” under several state securities (or Blue Sky) laws. While the ruling did...more
As we have discussed in previous QuickStudies, certain borrowers in industries experiencing particularly adverse economic conditions have taken advantage of flexible terms in their credit agreements to transfer valuable...more
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting individuals and businesses across the globe. For middle market borrowers and their lenders, this is a critical time for risk assessment and proactive action. There has been...more
Introduction -
Over the past several months, there has been an increase in credit agreements and high-yield bond indentures with provisions designed to limit the influence of lenders whose economic interest is not aligned...more
On August 1, 2019, important amendments to the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the “LLC Act”) and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “LP Act”) will become effective. These amendments will...more
On June 19, 2019, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit) delivered an important opinion analyzing the enforceability of an intercreditor agreement relative to the distribution...more
On February 15, 2019, following a full bench trial, the Honorable Jesse M. Furman (S.D.N.Y.) entered judgment in favor of Aurelius Capital Master, Ltd. (“Aurelius”) and against Windstream Services, LLC (“Windstream”) in the...more
On September 21, 2018, Marble Ridge Capital (“Marble Ridge”) issued a press release indicating that Marble Ridge had sent a letter to the board of directors of Neiman Marcus alleging that certain transactions entered into by...more
Introduction -
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York convened the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) in 2014 in order to, among other things, identify the...more
Introduction -
The London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) presently serves as the benchmark rate for over $200 trillion of US dollar-based derivatives and loans. In 2012, financial industry regulators discovered...more