The Weil-designed “Stapled Exchange” – a groundbreaking method for U.S. public companies to restructure debt that avoids equity cancellation, delisting and the need to address the entire capital structure – has been featured in a Financial Times article titled, “US Bankruptcy Fights are Heading to London.” The article cites examples of American companies turning to British legal venues for creative restructuring solutions.

The Financial Times reported how Weil client Fossil, a Texas-based retailer, used this first-of-its-kind strategy to win UK court approval and subsequent US court recognition through Part 26A of the U.K.’s Companies Act to restructure $150 million in bonds “facing an approaching debt maturity after deciding a traditional US chapter 11 process would have been too unwieldy.”

Using the method, Fossil avoided eliminating equity that would have occurred in a chapter 11, the article notes, and shareholders have seen the value of their equity in the company “rocket” from $80 million to $250 million. Weil guided Fossil as it secured British court approval and a subsequent chapter 15 recognition in a Houston bankruptcy court, making the proceeding enforceable under U.S. law, the Financial Times reported.

The Weil team advising Fossil was led by Restructuring Department Co-Chair Sunny Singh and partner Gary Holtzer.

To read the entire article, please visit Financial Times.