A court-supervised scheme of arrangement is the most straightforward and cost effective way to facilitate a corporate rescue or restructuring of a company which is incorporated in Bermuda but has its operations or listing status in another jurisdiction. As a highly sophisticated, tax-neutral offshore jurisdiction based on English common law, Bermuda is a jurisdiction of choice for companies listed on the NYSE, Nasdaq, HKSE and SGX. Bermuda’s statutory scheme of arrangement regime (either on a standalone basis, or in conjunction with a protective provisional liquidation ‘wrapper’) empowers such companies to restructure their financial liabilities without endangering their tax status or duplicating proceedings across the various jurisdictions in which such companies may have their operations or creditors.

The schemes of arrangement successfully implemented by Noble Group1 and Titan Petrochemicals, and the scheme presently being negotiated by Up Energy, provide recent examples of the efficacy of the Bermuda scheme of arrangement process and its importance as the primary tool for the implementation of complex, cross-border restructurings of companies incorporated in Bermuda. 

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