This isn’t the first time—and it certainly won’t be the last—that private equity firms are bracing for an economic downturn. Although private equity firms usually earn their best returns after a recession, only the most strategic private equity firms get through a downturn successfully. While the U.S. is not quite in a recession (technically), private equity investors and their portfolio companies are dealing with persistent inflation, interest rate hikes, talent shortages, supply chain issues and continued geopolitical tensions. It’s safe to say the U.S. is teetering on the edge of a recession and experiencing softer market conditions, at the very least.

Partners Dan Feldman, Omar Samji, Roberta Berliner Cherman and counsel Gabriel Salinas have published a report on the Growing Importance of Low-Carbon Hydrogen in Latin America.

On September 14, 2022, the European Parliament (the Parliament) adopted its proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive (Recast) 2018 (RED II). Amongst other things, this text would make the requirements for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) (which includes green hydrogen, green ammonia and other e-fuels) more lenient than those proposed by the European Commission in its draft Delegated Act (published in May 2022).

Shearman & Sterling’s Bank Finance lawyers Bjorn Bjerke, Barbara Zylberg and Caleb Chua contributed a chapter as exclusive authors for The Legal 500: Securitization Comparative Guide. This is the third edition of the chapter authored by Shearman & Sterling. The guide, which focuses on securitization, provides the latest overview of securitization laws and regulations specific to the United States.

The common law solvent debtor exception, in short, means that a solvent debtor must generally pay post-petition interest accruing during bankruptcy at the contractual or state law rates before collecting surplus value from the bankruptcy estate. Several recent bankruptcy court rulings have analyzed the solvent debtor exception, and some have called the solvent debtor exception into question. On August 29, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a divided opinion, became the first circuit court to address the question that has resulted in differing conclusions among bankruptcy courts: what rate of post-petition interest must a solvent debtor pay to creditors whose claims are designated as unimpaired under a plan pursuant to § 1124(1) of the Bankruptcy Code?

The Law Commission of England & Wales is conducting a review of the Arbitration Act 1996 as part of its 14th programme of law reform.  One area under consideration relates to the courts’ powers in support of arbitral proceedings pursuant to Section 44.  In this post, we address four issues that arise in this context, namely: (1) the exclusion of the Court's powers in Section 44; (2) the application of Section 44 third parties; (3) the relationship between Section 44 and emergency arbitrator and expedited arbitral procedures; and (4) the meaning of “assets” for without notice orders under Section 44.

On August 26, Indiana Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey J. Graham issued an order in the bankruptcy cases of Aearo Technologies (“Aearo” and, together with its affiliate debtors, the “Debtors”), denying the Debtors’ motion for a preliminary injunction protecting non-debtor parent 3M Company (“3M”) against a slew of litigation related to hearing-protection devices that were allegedly defective and resulted in hearing loss and related injuries. 

With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now signed into law, attention is shifting to the next potential area for energy reform: permitting. Senator Manchin has outlined his priorities for energy permitting reform legislation, which could be voted on by the end of September.