Linklaters has advised the Dutch insolvency administrator Barend de Roy van Zuidewijn of AKD in relation to the sale of ten shopping centres. Purchasers of these commercial properties, predominantly located in eastern Germany, are subsidiaries of the US financial investor Cerberus Capital Management.

The principal creditor of the insolvent real estate companies initiated the liquidation proceedings in order to utilise the property assets by means of a so-called “cold enforcement”. During the transaction the bank played a correspondingly significant role. The sale was structured as a multi-level auction process.

The transaction raised complex issues in relation to cross-border insolvency provisions and the applicability of the European Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings to various scenarios. The deal also involved an interesting curiosity: Linklaters had to conduct a public notice procedure to delete a mortgage registered in the year 1903 in Goldmark (i.e. pre-dating Euro, Deutsche Mark and Reichsmark).

Linklaters’ team advising the liquidator was led by Wolfram H. Krüger (Real Estate, Frankfurt). Further team members: Dr. Michael Ehret (Tax, Frankfurt), Dr. Markus Appel (Corporate/Public Law, Berlin), Daniel Buchinger, Dr. Marc Oliver Banzhaf (both Real Estate, Frankfurt), Dr. Sabine Vorwerk (Restructuring & Insolvency, Frankfurt), Manon Brindöpke (Competition/Antitrust, Düsseldorf), Dr. Janine Nicola Osthoff, Kai Thorben Gassert und Stefanie Emrich-Katzin (all Real Estate, Frankfurt.

http://www.linklaters.com/News/LatestDeals/2013/Pages/Linklaters-advise…