Restructuring Mergers & Acquisitions Fund Raising Green Business Private Equity Private Credit Litigation Services Education
Restructuring Banner
Home / Focus / Restructuring

Restructuring

“Own your situation. Early."
— Mark Chadwick

“Restructuring is not just about waving a magic wand and fixing the balance sheet - it is about positioning the company for a successful future.”

Financial distress is a defining moment in a company’s history.

With survival on the line, it needs to confidently navigate a path of liquidity management, while preserving cashflow for essential operations and facing difficult negotiations.

A coherent strategy is essential – one that addresses urgent business and operational needs with a robust approach to creditor management. Hard decisions need to be made in real time, supported by an experienced team who understand the available options and their business, financial and legal implications.

E&L provides a solutions focused team that advises on strategy. We have pioneered creative solutions tailored to address a single class of creditors without affecting operations as well as comprehensive balance sheet restructurings. No option is left unexplored – we are familiar with Chapter 11, UK restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement in multiple jurisdictions and Indonesian suspension of payments (PKPU) procedures, as well as the application of collective action clauses and the game theory of strategic negotiation.

We are your strategic partner through the entire process, here to help you make informed decisions with confidence.

Integrated Advice

Finance

Stabilizes capital and restores financial viability.

  • Restructure capital and balance sheet - Redesign debt, equity, and capital stack to restore sustainability.
  • Model recovery scenarios - Stress test cashflows, liquidity, and downside cases to guide decisions.
  • Optimize working capital and liquidity - Improve cash control and short-term financial stability.
  • Support investor strategy - Enable informed decisions on recovery, exit, or capital redeployment

Legal

Provides Implementation strategy.

  • Structure legal frameworks for restructuring - Align agreements, covenants, and capital rights.
  • Lead creditor negotiations and amendments - Navigate complex stakeholder dynamics and legal positions.
  • Mitigate legal and enforcement risks - Ensure defensible and executable restructuring pathways.
  • Support cross-border and regulatory complexity - Manage jurisdictional and compliance considerations.

INTELLIGENCE

Understand the political and creditor landscape

  • Create key coalitions of creditors and voting blocks
  • Trace assets, investigations and enforcement.
  • Forensic analysis.
  • Political landscape mapping and positioning.
  • Media strategy.
Beyond Boundaries

Integrated Restructuring Solutions

The financial, legal and intelligence aspects of restructuring cannot easily be separated and our integrated approach enables the legal strategy to be aligned with the financial solution and political and creditor dynamics. Own your situation early and come out stronger!

Our Services

Case Study
  • Our Indonesian client was unable to refinance the principal on a USD250,000,000 bond due to COVID-19.
  • It did not wish to default on its payments, suffer a ratings downgrade or affect operations.
  • USD bonds are tricky to restructure as they have no collective action clause and it is difficult to identify bondholders. It is not possible to negotiate with all bondholders individually.
  • Indonesian PKPU proceedings would have been incredibly disruptive, causing a suspension of their listing suspension.
E&L Value Add
  • Noting that the bonds had been arranged in Singapore, E&L proposed a scheme of arrangement under the Singapore Insolvency Restructuring and Dissolution Act (IRDA) — even though it had never before been applied to an Indonesian issuer.
  • This unusual approach conferred the key benefit of a court action (binding on all bondholders) without the disruption of a local PKPU or affecting other creditors.
  • E&L conducted a bondholder identification to form a working group of creditors to negotiate a solution.
  • E&L then assisted the client in negotiations to reach acceptable terms, which included an option to convert to equity or accept a bond with a longer dated maturity.
Outcome
  • Once a solution had been negotiated, E&L prepared the Scheme Documents for a “pre-packaged” Singapore scheme of arrangement.
  • As Scheme Manager, E&L held a creditors meeting at which >95% bondholders voted in support.
  • E&L instructed Singapore litigation counsel to submit the ratified scheme for approval of the Singapore court. This resulted in a written judgment recognising the novel application of the IRDA procedure.
  • E&L then implemented the bond exchange process through the international clearing system.
  • The bond was successfully restructured without a single payment being missed, a ratings downgrade or a listing suspension.