Global Restructuring Review Publishes Hornshaw and Laidler Article on Successful Implementation of a Scheme of Arrangement
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Akin Gump litigation partner Richard Hornshaw and counsel Tom Laidler have authored the article “African Minerals Limited: using a scheme to unlock value for all creditors,” which was published in Global Restructuring Review.
The article discusses how a Cayman litigation trust and an English scheme “were used to get around creditor differences on pursuing significant litigation, in the context of the administration of an iron ore miner in Sierra Leone.” The case in question revolves around African Minerals Limited (AML), an AIM-listed company whose principal asset was an iron ore mine in Sierra Leone.
The authors write that the structure used “was an elegant solution to the problem of how to reconcile the divergent views amongst creditors as to the approach which the administrators should take to the proposed claim.” While a scheme of arrangement will not be suitable for all insolvency practitioners to adopt, in this instance, they note, “the scheme provided an effective and robust mechanism, as well as providing another example of the flexibility of the English court’s jurisdiction in relation to schemes.”
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
Hornshaw and Laidler were part of the Akin Gump team advising AML in the successful implementation of a scheme of arrangement. (To learn more, please click here.)