All too often, attorneys misunderstand (or worse, disregard) the importance of local rules in numerous contexts —particularly in the area of asset sales. Rather than they be merely an afterthought, practitioners should be encouraged to make the local rules a jumping-off point when seeking to conduct a sale through § 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Asset Sales Committee
Committees
Asset sales under § 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code[1] have become a critical component of the bankruptcy practitioner’s arsenal, and a preferred avenue of monetizing a debtor’s assets. The process is generally straightforward, and the Bankruptcy Code provides the framework of how sales should proceed. U.S.
Section 363 allows a debtor to sell its assets free and clear of interests in such property. If a creditor has a significant claim on a debtor’s assets, a § 363 sale may allow a debtor to sell its assets at a higher price than it could outside of bankruptcy. When debtors attempted a § 363 sale of their assets in In re K & D Industrial Services, the U.S.
Investors and those representing them go to great lengths to maximize the value of their deals in § 363 asset purchases. But if they’re not careful, they could easily find themselves in the following auction scenario, where a little ambiguity jeopardizes significant value that a “stalking horse” bidder thought it had already negotiated.
Over the past several years, financially distressed companies have increasingly used bankruptcy as the preferred method to sell significant assets or entire businesses.
Adequate protection is one of the central protections provided to secured creditors by the Bankruptcy Code, and it is designed to protect against any diminution of the value of the secured creditor’s lien during the course of a debtor’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Similar to domestic bankruptcy cases, in chapter 15 cases the sale or disposition of property located in the U.S.
Editor’s Note: The following article, “Spanish Peaks’ Reinvigoration of the Precision Industries Debate: Rejection in the Context of a § 363 Sale Free and Clear of Commercial Leasehold Interests” won the prize for third place in the Tenth Annual ABI Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition. Mr.
This article examines certain key provisions in asset-purchase agreements that practitioners will want to pay attention to when purchasing assets in bankruptcy sales.
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