Restructuring & Bankruptcy
Altenburger is a leading Swiss law firm for bankruptcy and restructuring measures, either domestic or international, with more than 20 years of expertise in the field.
Main Contacts
Our Bankruptcy, Liquidation & Restructuring team assists you in all your endeavors relating to bankruptcy and restructuring processes. Whether you are a creditor who wants to protect its claims or a company which is going through a difficult phase, we offer business-oriented and practical advice helping you preserve your assets.
How We Approach Bankruptcy, Liquidation & Restructuring
Restructuring or bankruptcy is not a failure, but rather a detour on the road to success. With this in mind, we focus on finding solutions aimed at helping every party obtain the best result in the given situation. We therefore give priority to win-win situations, negotiations among creditors and debtors, and favor transactions. In this respect, we work in close connection with accountancy and auditing firms to assess the suitability and effectiveness of restructuring measures. Our focus on constructive solutions is a reflection of our strong commitment towards alternative dispute resolution and facilitated solutions (see our Dispute Resolution page in this respect).
Should a bankruptcy nonetheless be inevitable, our team of experts will then assist you in all your relations towards debtors/creditors as well as with the relevant Bankruptcy Offices and courts and will accompany you in every step of the way. With offices in Geneva, Zürich and Lugano, and experts in all of these offices, we can help you in every part of Switzerland.
Range of Services
Assessment of the Financial Situation of a Company
- Analysis of the assets and liabilities of a company
- Assisting and guiding you through amicable settlement talks with debtors and creditors
Liquidation & Restructuring Measures
- Determining the best measures to enhance the continuation of a company
- Acting as counsel for debtors and creditors before the courts in restructuring proceedings
- Acting as court-appointed Composition Trustee
Bankruptcy Proceedings
- Representing and advising debtors and creditors in bankruptcy proceedings
- Registration of claims, filing petitions against the schedule of claim, complaints in front of the Supervisory authority, avoidance claims, etc.
- Acting as president or member of creditors' committees
- Filing liability claims against former directors and officers or defending the latter
- Obtaining recognition and enforcement of foreign bankruptcies in Switzerland
- Acting as court-appointed bankruptcy liquidators
In providing these services we closely work with our Dispute Resolution Team as well as with our Commercial & Contracts and Corporate and M&A Teams.
Selected Cases
- Representing the interests of Chinese shareholders in the context of the bankruptcy of a Swiss subsidiary and negotiating adequate measures with the subsidiary's management and the Bankruptcy Office
- Appointed as liquidator in the bankruptcy of Ethical Coffee Company SA, a company active in the coffee industry, and handling the whole bankruptcy process (total amount of claims produced amounting to more than CHF 93 million)
- Defending a former director of a company against a liability claim filed by creditors
- Appointed as investigator and liquidator of various financial companies by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)
- Representing a creditor in the bankruptcy of various Swiss companies active in the molecular diagnostics field
- Assisting and representing the OSIC (Official Stanford Investments Committee) in all Swiss proceedings related to assets located in Switzerland following a 'Ponzi scheme' involving 7 billion CHF
- Representing the claims of Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas in the composition proceedings of Petroplus Marketing SA, one of the companies in the Petroplus Group
- Acting as Vice-president of the Creditors Committee in the composition of Petroplus Marketing SA, one of the companies of the Petroplus Group
For a complete or field-specific list of cases, please get in touch with us.