The Case for Creditor Cooperation Duties in Corporate Workouts

By Horst Eidenmüller and Kristin van Zwieten May 13, 2020 by renholding

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing financial distress to economically viable firms on an unprecedented scale. In this post, we introduce the novel idea of creditor cooperation duties to stabilize corporate workouts.

The prospect of widespread defaults by viable firms triggered …

SEC Enforcement Chief Discusses How the Division Is Responding During the Pandemic

By Steven R. Peikin May 13, 2020 by renholding

We are all too familiar with the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our personal and professional lives over these last several months.[1] We are confronting new and serious personal challenges, all the while endeavoring to

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Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Europe’s Easing of State-Aid Rules for Pandemic-Related Recapitalizations

By François-Charles Laprévote and Giulio Cesare Rizza May 12, 2020 by renholding

On May 8, 2020, the Commission published an important new communication aimed at relaxing State aid rules for COVID‑19‑related equity injections by States into non‑financial companies.^[1] While previous initiatives aimed at relaxing State aid rules (in particular the so‑called …

Cadwalader Discusses Covid-19, PPP Loans, and the Safe Harbor Date for Returning Loans

By Jodi Avergun, Scott Cammarn, Anne Tompkins, Christian Larson and Kendra Wharton May 11, 2020 by renholding

The Small Business Administration (“SBA”), in consultation with the Treasury Department, issued FAQ #43 on May 5, 2020 extending by a week the time within which a borrower has to repay a previously issued SBA loan under the …

Davis Polk Discusses Reductions in Executive Pay Due to Covid-19

By Kyoko Takahashi Lin and David Mollo-Christensen May 8, 2020 by renholding

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing market uncertainty, as well as recently enacted legislation, have upended the compensation and benefit programs of many companies. This is the fifth memorandum in a series of client memoranda that we are preparing …

Insider Trading Data Reveals Pandemic Is a Time for Questioning, Not Answering

By Renée Adams and Attila Balogh May 7, 2020 by renholding

Following news reports about executives selling shares in their corporations to avoid losses due to the pandemic, we take a closer look at insider trades and find that net insider purchases have been positive in February and March, revealing corporate …

Extreme Times, Extreme Measures: Pandemic-Resistant Corporate Law

By Luca Enriques May 5, 2020 by renholding

These are exceptional times, and policymakers are taking exceptional measures in public health, public finance, monetary policy, and public law. Among the latter, of great relevance to corporate governance are the rules broadening governments’ powers to authorize large share block …

SEC Chair Addresses Special Meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee

By Jay Clayton May 5, 2020 by renholding

Thank you, Anne (Sheehan). I really appreciate your prompt response to our request to reconvene a special meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee to focus on issuer-investor engagement in the context of the challenges posed by COVID-19, including, in particular,

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How to Start Rebuilding Supply Chains in the Wake of Covid-19

By Matthew Jennejohn May 4, 2020 by renholding

The Covid-19 outbreak demonstrates how vulnerable our elaborate cross-border supply chains are to disruption. It isn’t the first time in recent memory that contemporary supply chains have been upended – the 2011 earthquake off the coast of eastern Japan is …

The Pandemic’s Impact on Board Oversight of Enterprise Risk

By Michael W. Peregrine April 30, 2020 by renholding

One of the most significant corporate governance implications of the pandemic may be its impact on the role and function of a board’s enterprise risk committee. From one perspective, the pandemic may increase that committee’s significance, potentially putting it on …

Wachtell Offers More on What to Say During Earnings Calls in Time of Covid-19

By Mark Gordon, Igor Kirman, Sabastian V. Niles, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders and Lauren M. Kofke April 29, 2020 by renholding

Upcoming first quarter earnings calls may be the most scrutinized in modern corporate history. How to handle these calls in light of the unprecedented social and economic impacts of COVID-19 is a question confronting every company that has not yet …

Fed to the Rescue: Unprecedented Scope, Stretched Authority

By Lev Menand April 27, 2020 by renholding

When it comes to responding to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the Federal Reserve has emerged as one of the most active institutions at the national level. Its bold and timely interventions have halted a monetary breakdown that would …

Freshfields Discusses Compliance with Interim Operating Covenants in Signed M&A Deals

By Ethan A. Klingsberg, Paul M. Tiger and Kelsey MacElroy April 27, 2020 by renholding

Against the backdrop of unexpected developments arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, parties with signed, but not yet closed, M&A transactions are taking a closer look at potential openings for claims of breaches and failures of closing conditions. It seems the …

SEC Urges More Disclosure in First-Quarter Earnings Reports Amid the Pandemic

By Adam Fleisher, Sandra Flow, Nick Grabar, Jeffrey Karpf and David Lopez April 21, 2020 by hdh2120

The Securities and Exchange Commission and its senior staff have put out a succession of releases that combine some relief, some guidance and some warnings. The SEC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response page is available here.

The latest in the series came …

How Banks and Fintechs Can Help Small Businesses Survive COVID-19

By Todd H. Baker and Kathryn Judge April 16, 2020 by renholding

Small business assistance has been a central focus of the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, and for good reason. Small businesses underlie the vitality of our neighborhoods, spark innovation, and employ almost one-half of the U.S. workforce. In a …

Wall Street CARES!: Who Gets the Hidden Subsidies Under the CARES Act?

By John C. Coffee, Jr. April 15, 2020 by renholding

The CARES Act was passed under intense pressure and with minimal transparency. The consequence of this opaque process is that there are some surprising windfalls. No criticism is here expressed of the act’s purpose, but Wall Street knows one thing …

Exequity Offers a Framework for Discretion in Executive Incentive Plans

By Chad Mitchell April 15, 2020 by renholding

The impact of COVID-19 on business has been profound and sudden. Strategic plans, business forecasts, and operating budgets set before the current crisis are likely to bear no semblance to plans that might be set today. Moreover, plans set today …

Large Corporations Did Not Need A Bailout

By Anthony J. Casey April 14, 2020 by renholding

The CARES Act passed in response to the COVID-19 crisis provides billions of dollars in industry-specific loans that will go to large corporations like Boeing and the major airlines. These provisions are part of a larger compromise that also puts …

Conference Board Discusses Areas for Board Attention During Pandemic

By Matteo Tonello and Paul Washington April 14, 2020 by renholding

Just as with the financial crisis of 2008, corporate boards of directors are facing the combination of increased responsibility, scrutiny, and uncertainty as their companies grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the Great Recession, The Conference Board …

Paul Weiss Discusses the Scheduled End of LIBOR

By Susanna M. Buergel, Jessica S. Carey, Manuel S. Frey, Brad S. Karp, and Jane O'Brien April 13, 2020 by renholding

Notwithstanding numerous COVID-19-related challenges faced by market participants, UK regulators have affirmed that—at least for now—the anticipated cessation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) at the end of calendar year 2021 remains unchanged. Complying with regulators’ and working groups’ …

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The CLS Blue Sky Blog

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

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