In the wake of chemical giant LyondellBasell filing for Chaptel 11, several top firms in the United States and the United Kingdom find themselves involved.
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has secured a leading role for the company in the US, with financial restructuring group heads Deryck Palmer and John Rapisardi leading the team. In the UK, LyondellBasell has procured Clifford Chance
Creditors involved in the case, both in the US and the UK, have secured firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Lyondell Chemical, the company’s US arm, filed for Chapter 11 in January. It did not include most of the groups operations in Europe. The decision was made to avoid having the company’s European assets liquidated.
Ashurst head of restructuring Nick Angel said: “As a generalization, an insolvency process almost anywhere in the world is to be avoided because it damages value. This is especially true where you have the prospect of different insolvency processes in different countries but it is less true for the US, where Chapter 11 processes are more readily accepted.
“What has happened here illustrates the difficulty in dealing with international groups because Chapter 11 will not be recognized throughout the world and there is no alternative worldwide process for insolvency.”