Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency

Key Contacts

Matheson’s corporate restructuring and insolvency lawyers provide specialist advice on both contentious and non-contentious corporate restructuring and insolvency mandates. The team has unrivalled strength, expertise and experience that has seen us deal with Ireland’s most significant and complex domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters over many years.

The team regularly deals with complex Irish and multi-jurisdictional distressed situations, having acted for many of the world’s largest banks, investment funds as well as Ireland’s leading insolvency practitioners.

The team had been heavily involved in a number of significant assignments arising from the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation and retail sectors.

The team works hand in glove with other specialist teams, including the commercial real estate, finance and capital markets, tax and corporate teams, to deliver a seamless service and provide practical and innovative solutions for our clients.

We advise on the full range of corporate recovery and restructuring assignments including:

Domestic and cross-border insolvencies involving Irish companies.
Solvent and insolvent restructurings and schemes of arrangement.
Complex and novel litigation arising from and in connection with the sale of loan portfolios by divesting financial institutions to speciality funds and alternative acquiring entities.
Examinerships.
Receiverships and pre-packs.
Loan to own strategies.
Distressed loan sales and purchases.
Out of court rescheduling and debt restructurings.
Bankruptcy and voluntary schemes of arrangements.
Asset and debt recovery in Ireland and internationally.
Security reviews and enforcement actions.
All associated litigation.

Experience Highlights

Our team has recently advised:

Weatherford International plc in relation to the global restructuring of the debtors’ balance sheets using parallel procedures of Chapter 11 restructuring process in the US, an examinership process in Ireland and a provisional liquidation in Bermuda.
BNY Mellon in its capacity as indenture trustee in the cross border restructuring of the debts of Ballantyne Re plc by way of an Irish scheme of arrangement of US$1.65 bn of liabilities and subsequent recognition by way of Chapter 15 in the United States.
in relation to the examinership of CityJet.
the liquidator of Debenhams.

the examiner of Cara Pharmacy Group.
a major creditor in relation the restructuring of the liabilities of Nordic Aviation by way of Irish scheme of arrangement.
Vision Built Manufacturing Limited in relation to the successful appointment of an examiner over a related company in the group registered in England with its centre of main interests in Ireland. Notwithstanding that a creditor in England had sought to petition the English courts to wind up the related company in the UK, we were successful in dealing with the winding up petition and ensuring the related company entered into examinership under Irish law.

Ulster Bank, as the petitioner and one of the largest creditors of Sean Dunne, in relation to having him adjudicated a bankrupt in Ireland resulting in the first ever dual bankruptcy in Ireland and the United States. This matter went to the Supreme Court in a precedent-setting judgment. The bankrupt’s estate comprises of assets located across a multitude of jurisdictions.