Borrowers and lenders must both be aware of the risks relating to uncertainty regarding make-whole premiums in bankruptcy. The enforceability of “make-whole” premiums in bankruptcy has become a hotly contested issue in...more
Fifth circuit rules that serta simmons uptier violated credit agreement, rejects equitable mootness as bar to review of chapter 11 plan confirmation order and excises plan indemnification provision...more
In In re Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, 125 F.4th 555 (5th Cir. 2024), as amended, No. 23-20281 (5th Cir. Jan. 21, 2025), revised and superseded, No. 23-20181 (5th Cir. Feb. 14, 2025), reh'g denied, No. 23-20181 (5th Cir. Feb....more
On December 31, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas’ (the “Bankruptcy Court”) decision that the exchange by certain lenders of Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC...more
In a landmark ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a June 2020 refinancing transaction (the Uptier Transaction) entered by Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC (SSB, or the Debtor) and certain of its lenders...more
On December 31, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision regarding the permissibility of the Serta Simmons Bedding (Serta) uptier liability management exercise (the 2020 Uptier)...more
The caselaw on “uptiers” as liability management exercises (LMEs) grew by two opinions on the last day of 2024. In Serta, the Fifth Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court’s blessing of the pre-bankruptcy uptier and...more
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has unanimously held that the debt exchange undertaken by Serta Simmons Bedding did not qualify as an "open market purchase" under the terms of Serta's...more
Market participants might be wary of opinions that begin with a recitation of academic literature and then turn to dictionaries. The former tend to be authored with an eye toward systemic change rather than direct experience...more
On December 31, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the Court or the Fifth Circuit) held that the controversial $200 million Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) uptier financing...more
Summary - The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld on August 24, 2023, a decision from the District Court to dismiss a securities fraud case brought by a Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee, on the...more
Takeaways - Loan agreement provisions allowing borrowers to repurchase their loans to take advantage of steep debt discounts and restructure their debt became popular in the wake of the financial crisis. The meaning of some...more
"Cramdown" chapter 11 plans, under which a bankruptcy court confirms a plan over the objection of a class of creditors, are relatively common. Less common are the subset of cramdown plans known as "cram-up" chapter 11 plans....more
Leisure M&A deal value totaled US$13.5 billion in Q1 2020, which, although higher than figures recorded for Q1 2019, was more than 50% below Q4 2019 levels. Deal volume dropped to 117 transactions, the lowest quarterly total...more
In the August 2017 issue of Debt Dialogue, we discussed the recent decision by Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York with respect to claims brought by the litigation trust (the...more
On Oct. 7, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated a plan injunction that had been approved by the Bankruptcy Court in the Chapter 11 cases of LightSquared and certain of its affiliates...more
As predicted a year ago, the adoption of US-style covenant-lite terms in European leveraged deals continues apace. This is hardly surprising given that the existence of ultra-low interest rates are sparking intense...more
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”) recently upheld a $23.7 million make-whole payment (the “Make-Whole Payment”) in In re School Specialty (Case No. 13-10125), denying the assertion...more