New ways at Eterna StaRUG proceedings: First amendment of a StaRUG restructuring plan in ongoing proceedings and simultaneous entry of a new investor

The restructuring plan pursuant to StaRUG of eterna Mode Holding GmbH (“Eterna”) was unanimously approved by the creditors on 10 September 2021. Shortly before the vote on the already submitted restructuring plan, act legal Germany, under the leadership of Dr. Alexander Höpfner, facilitates the entry of another investor in Eterna in the already ongoing restructuring plan proceedings, which increased the quota for the bondholders in the restructuring plan by 25%.

act legal Germany was mandated by Robus Capital Management Ltd. advised funds (“Robus“) only at the end of August 2021 with the aim of being able to enter into Eterna as an investor in the short term in order to implement the best possible satisfaction of creditors.

At that time, the restructuring plan had already been filed pursuant to StaRUG and the meeting of the plan affected parties to vote on the restructuring plan (“vote min“) had been set for 2 September 2021. With the help of act legal Germany, the voting date was moved to 10 September 2021, at which the plan stakeholders now unanimously approved the restructuring plan.

The entry of Robus made it possible to improve the quota for bondholders in the restructuring plan by a further 25%. Together with the Quadriga Capital Funds (“Quadriga“), Robus is now supporting the transformation course embarked upon by the company with fresh capital.

Legally, the investor entry was implemented by Robus taking over shares on the basis of a capital increase provided for in the restructuring plan on the basis of contracts notarised before the voting date. In this way, it was ensured that the restructuring plan already submitted only had to be changed very slightly in the voting meeting. The voting date was thus preceded by an extensive M&A transaction.

Thanks to its special restructuring and M&A expertise, act legal Germany obtained an amendment to the restructuring plan in the ongoing proceedings (and thus a higher quota for the bondholders) for the first time in what are probably the largest StaRUG proceedings to date, and thus enforced and implemented the entry of a new investor / shareholder in the already ongoing proceedings in record-breaking time.

With a large number of market-renowned self-administration proceedings already successfully completed in 2020/2021 (most recently Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG) and distressed M&A transactions (most recently the acquisition of the insolvent Nanogate Group by the US Techniplas Group), act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency/restructuring and distressed M&A practices are among the market leaders in Germany.

Advising Robus: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr Alexander Höpfner (lead, restructuring), Dr Matthias Müller, MBA (restructuring / M&A), Dr Fabian Brocke, LL.M. (corporate M&A), Dr Felix Melzer (restructuring), Sarah Landsberg (corporate M&A)