Restructuring and Insolvency

A.G. Erotocritou LLC's highly specialised Restructuring and Insolvency practice has extensive experience in complex, high-value and multi-jurisdictional mandates.

Cyprus continues to offer an attractive and increasingly effective jurisdiction for court-sanctioned debt restructurings, particularly following legislative reforms that have streamlined the approval process for schemes of arrangement and reduced the statutory voting thresholds required for creditor approval. This has further strengthened Cyprus’ position as a strategic venue for regional and international restructuring solutions.

Our team has acted in some of the most significant and sophisticated restructuring and insolvency matters to arise in Cyprus, including major international restructurings involving multiple jurisdictions, financial institutions, insolvency office-holders and corporate groups. The close integration of our restructuring and insolvency practice with our top-ranked dispute resolution team is a particular strength of the firm, enabling us to mobilise multi-disciplinary teams quickly and efficiently in matters involving contentious insolvency proceedings, urgent court applications, enforcement risk and asset preservation.

We advise on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious restructuring and insolvency matters. Our clients include creditors, debtors, insolvency practitioners, lenders, multinational financial institutions, investors, accountants and financial advisers. We are regularly instructed in relation to distressed debt situations, formal insolvency processes, restructuring negotiations and court-sanctioned restructuring solutions.

Members of our team, which include certified insolvency practitioners with particular expertise in the field, are consistently recognised as leading practitioners in Cyprus and regularly contribute thought leadership and publications on restructuring and insolvency developments in leading legal directories and professional platforms.

Our recent experience includes advising on complex cross-border restructurings and insolvencies, distressed debt and non-performing loan portfolios, bank resolution and recapitalisation matters, debt rescheduling and debt-to-equity swaps, the purchase and sale of claims, avoidance and clawback actions, and broader capital restructuring transactions, including buy-outs, M&A-led restructurings and new equity investments. We also regularly advise on corporate reorganisations and solvent restructurings implemented outside formal insolvency proceedings, including schemes of arrangement and other court-approved restructuring mechanisms.

Recent work handled in this respect includes:

• Preparing and promoting a highly contested scheme of arrangement to restructure a debt of USD 700 million between a Cyprus holding company and its creditors, concerning a banking institution. Although the scheme was approved by the creditors and pending the hearing for the sanctioning of the scheme of arrangement by the Court, the underlying banking group was nationalised, which has resulted in the termination of the restructuring. The restructuring is probably the largest (from all aspects) which has ever taken place in Cyprus.
• Advising and supporting the Receiver appointed pursuant to a floating charge following a default of a large property developer on obligations exceeding EUR 70 million.
• Instructed in a complex cross-border civil fraud case, in which assets in excess of USD 4 billion were alienated through a complex insolvency and restructuring scheme, and securing injunctions to secure the assets.
• Representing major stakeholders and opposing a scheme of arrangement of one of the largest companies in Cyprus with ongoing operations.

For further information or in case you have any legal issues, please contact us at: 

e: info@erotocritou.com