Turning Off The Lights: Safely Shutting Down An Insolvent Subsidiary

It is not uncommon for a holding company (or private equity fund) to have at least one operating subsidiary (or portfolio company) that is underperforming relative to the other companies it owns. Sometimes problems can be fixed and fortunes reversed. Other times, however, the subsidiary/portfolio company continues to struggle and may eventually become truly distressed and even insolvent. At some point, the strategic decision will be made to discontinue the operating subsidiary's business. When this occurs, strategy must be quickly developed and executed to minimize any ongoing losses and to maximize the recovery for the subsidiary's stakeholders. <br/>Any business strategy should be approached with an informed understanding of the overall legal landscape, as well as the specific risks and potential rewards associated with each of the parent's available options. Likewise, the parent must understand its position in the decision-making process relative to those of the insolvent subsidiary's other obligees ' its creditors.

63 minute read September 17, 2004 at 03:50 PM

By

Jonathan P. Friedland And Ryan Blaine Bennett