Togut, Segal & Segal LLPCorporate Restructuring Attorneys

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Transnational Debtor Representation

Transnational (Cross-Border) Debtor Representation

Over the 40 years of the firm’s existence, the nature of the typical Chapter 11 debtor has dramatically changed. Forty years ago, most companies filing for Chapter 11 relief were based in the U.S, employed U.S. citizens, bought from U.S. suppliers, borrowed from U.S. banks, and sold to U.S. customers. Today, due to globalization, companies’ operations are international, implicating the laws of many countries. Products are manufactured in Asia, companies have offices all over the world, etc. As such, international law and the coordination of court proceedings in several countries have become far more common.

The Togut Firm has vast cross-border experience. In the first transnational case under the current law, attorney Albert Togut was the trustee of Axona International, a Hong Kong banking institution. The firm was counsel to LATAM Airlines, Westinghouse (UK parent), Daewoo, Pacific Drilling, Toisa Shipping, AbitibiBowater, Oneida International, Olympia & York, SK Global, and Lernout & Hauspie. Mr. Togut is a fellow of the International Insolvency Institute and a leader in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s European conferences. He has lectured extensively in Europe and elsewhere about international bankruptcy law.

Examples of the transnational cases that our firm has handled include:

Endo Pharmaceuticals

Co-counsel to the debtors, a multi-billion dollar global specialty biopharmaceutical business that produces and sells generic and branded products and are together one of the country’s leading specialty pharmaceutical companies, in connection with their chapter 11 cases aimed at pursuing a comprehensive restructuring of, among other things, more than $8.1 billion in funded debt and potential liability arising from more than 3,500 lawsuits in connection with their marketing and sale of certain FDA-approved opioid products. To effectuate the restructuring, the debtors are pursuing a sale of substantially all of their assets pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

JPA No. 111 Co. & JPA No. 49 Co.

Counsel to the debtors, two Japanese special purpose vehicles that each owned one Airbus A350-900 aircraft, in their chapter 11 cases commenced with the primary purpose of pursuing a sale process for substantially all of the debtors’ assets pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Togut Firm successfully defeated the security agent’s motion to dismiss the cases and assisted the debtors in consumating sale of their assets cash, which provided for the satisfaction and release of all of the debtors’ prepetition secured lenders’ claims, as well as additional cash proceeds to the debtors’ estates. The Togut Firm also obtained confirmation of a chapter 11 plan of reorganization that provided a substantial return to the debtor’s equity holder.

LATAM Airlines

Co-counsel with Cleary Gottlieb to the debtors, Latin America’s leading airline with operating entities based in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay. The Togut Firm assisted the debtors and their other professionals in restructuring the debtors’ fleet of more than 330 aircraft and reconciling and resolving claims. The debtors consummated a chapter 11 plan of reorganization in November 2023 that restructured debt of more than $7.5 billion.

Pacific Drilling S.A.

Lead counsel to the debtors, a Luxembourg-based international offshore drilling business that specializes in ultra-deepwater and complex well construction services that restructured approximately $3 billion in debt.

Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

Counsel to Toshiba Nuclear Energy Holdings (UK) Limited, one of the debtors and the parent company of the international arm of Westinghouse’s global nuclear power business, in connection with the restructuring of over $9 billion in debt between Toshiba Nuclear Energy Holdings (UK) Limited and the 31 other Westinghouse debtors.

Toisa, Limited.

Lead counsel to the debtors, 24 international shipping companies involving 46 vessels and the restructuring of more than $1 billion in liabilities.

SunEdison, Inc.

Co-counsel to the debtors, one of the world’s leading developers of renewable energy solutions, involving the restructuring of more than $8 billion in liabilities.

Aéropostale Inc.

Co-counsel to the debtors, a specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories serving young men and women through more than 800 locations, in the restructuring of approximately $300 million in liabilities.

Delphi Corporation, Et Al.

Conflicts counsel to the debtor, the largest automotive parts supplier in the United States, with extensive international operations.

Olympia & York Tower B Company

Sole counsel in a case involving restructuring more than $1 billion worth of mortgage and other indebtedness as part of a larger global restructuring of the Olympia & York entities, at the time considered to be the world’s largest real estate development group.

Daewoo International (America) Corp.

Sole counsel to the U.S.-based trading arm of the Korean Daewoo group of companies, which successfully underwent what was then the largest non-sovereign debt restructuring in history with aggregate liabilities exceeding $70 billion.

SK Global America, Inc.

Sole counsel to the debtor, the U.S.-based trading arm of what was then the third-largest conglomerate in South Korea and one of the largest business enterprises in the world.

AbitibiBowater Inc.

Counsel for a Canadian debtor in the AbitibiBowater Group, the world’s largest producer of newsprint by capacity and one of the largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturers worldwide, which included both U.S. and Canadian companies and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.

Lernout & Hauspie

Conflicts counsel for the then world leaders in the development of technologies relating to computerized speech recognition, production, and language translation.

Axona International Credit & Commerce Ltd.

Albert Togut served as trustee in the first transnational Chapter 7 case administered under the Bankruptcy Code.

In addition to representing U.S. Chapter 11 debtors affiliated with multinational corporations based overseas, Togut, Segal & Segal LLP also works with U.S.-based corporations with significant foreign operations and workforces.