Our Collective Procedures team assists managers and companies facing financial difficulties, in anticipating or dealing with them.
Drawing on the complementary expertise of several of the firm’s divisions, we are involved in all areas of insolvency proceedings, restructuring (in bonis or otherwise), financial and social reorganization of companies or groups, and the resulting M&A operations.
Our team also advises insolvency administrators and court-appointed agents.
Prevention, restructuring and judicial procedures for dealing with difficulties
We advise our clients as early as possible in the process, in consultation with the insolvency authorities, using preventive and protective measures as part of an out-of-court settlement:
– Ad hoc mandate
– and conciliation
These totally confidential preventive procedures enable companies and their directors to place themselves under legal protection with a view to reaching an agreement with their creditors, while retaining control of the business. As part of the conciliation procedure, it is possible to ask the judge to issue a provisional stay of payment of certain debts, or to stop enforcement measures, in order to allow an agreement to be put in place. The “Covid” ordinances have considerably strengthened the appeal and effectiveness of these amicable tools, which, when properly used, help to save many businesses. Our firm works in close collaboration with the experts and professionals usually involved in prevention: receivers, advisors, accountants and, where appropriate, “new money” providers.
In addition to implementing preventive measures, we assist our customers in all aspects of insolvency proceedings.
In this context, we help managers in difficulty to structure their continuation plan or to set up a pre-packaged sale, as well as to monitor litigation procedures directly linked to insolvency law.
We also advise buyers by assisting them in the preparation of their offer to the Court.
Financial restructuring
Our lawyers are involved in renegotiating bank debts, rescheduling LBO debts and seeking new financing. They also assist our customers before the public authorities: CIRI, Cabinet of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Prefectures, Commissioners for restructuring and prevention of difficulties.
Social restructuring
Our labor relations department is on hand to support our clients in all the strategic stages of such situations, by proposing an employment protection plan (in bonis or otherwise), and advising administrators and/or representatives on the social restructuring required to implement protection measures. Our lawyers handle relations with employee representatives and trade unions.
When corporate restructuring involves aligning the acquired structures and activities with the strategy of the acquiring group, our team is on hand to implement synergies.
Legal and tax structuring of the takeover
Strategic assistance in the choice and management of operations,
Legal and tax structuring memorandum for the integration of the target acquired, constitution of a takeover holding company
Financial modeling of legal, tax and, where applicable, asset structuring.
Mergers and acquisitions – reorganization
The Corporate and Tax teams, also at the heart of this support, assist clients with acquisition due diligence (in the event of a management buy-out), internal rationalization of group activities, internal mergers, spinning-off of activities or transfer of business lines.
Re-industrialization
Depending on the type of case, our team is also called upon to consult with our specialist lawyers on technical issues linked to the reindustrialization of sites, revitalization or development grants from public authorities, or negotiations with customers of industrial sites to leave or reassign production there.