On 14. December 2018, the Regional Court of Berlin issued the following press release relating to a claim for damages brought up by the insolvency administrator concerning the assets of Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (the "KG") against Etihad Airways PJSC ("Etihad") (Press release only available in German, convenience translation below):
“An action brought by the insolvency administrator ('the applicant') concerning the assets of Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG ('Air Berlin') against Etihad Airways PJSC ('the defendant'). The forms of order sought are payment of EUR 500 million and a declaration that the defendant is under an obligation to pay further damages. The Chamber has provisionally fixed the amount in dispute at up to EUR 2 billion.
The applicant claims that the defendant must pay damages. It violated its obligations under a Comfort Letter dated 28. April 2017. On that day, after intensive preliminary negotiations, the defendant signed a document confirming its intention to provide Air Berlin in any event with the necessary support for the next 18 months to enable its subsidiary to meet its financial obligations. Contrary to that commitment, it withdrew financial support from Air Berlin in August 2017, with the result that Air Berlin had to file for insolvency.
The applicant claims that the defendant has given a legally binding undertaking. Since it had breached that obligation, it had to settle all the creditors' legitimate claims. More than one million claims in the amount of more than a billion Euros have been filed but haven’t been fully examined by the administrator. The administrator had already examined three insolvency claims totalling just under EUR 500 million; according to the preliminary assessment, these were justified and therefore had to be determined in full to the insolvency table. According to the plaintiff, they could therefore demand payment of this corresponding amount from the defendant. Regarding the other claims filed, which the administrator had not yet examined and could not yet give any concrete figures. The administrator was therefore entitled to at least have established that the defendant owed damages in this regard.
After receipt of the statement of defence, for which the defendant has been set a deadline until the end of January 2019, the Chamber will discuss the further procedural steps. The progress of the proceedings, a possible appointment, will be reported from here.”
KEOS GbR ("KEOS"), as joint representative of the EUR 225,000,000, 2011/2018, 8.250% corporate bond issued by Air Berlin PLC ("PLC") (ISIN: DE000AB100B4 / WKN: AB100B) as a member of the creditors' committee, was informed about the procedure, but was not allowed to inform the bondholders due to the confidentiality obligation of the members of the creditors' committee.
In order to clarify the current situation of the insolvency proceedings, KEOS can add to the press release of the Regional Court of Berlin that the claim of the insolvency administrator for damages is pending for Air Berlin PLC. As stated in the press release of the Regional Court of Berlin, Etihad is expected to file a statement of defence by the end of January 2019.
OSA
“An action brought by the insolvency administrator ('the applicant') concerning the assets of Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG ('Air Berlin') against Etihad Airways PJSC ('the defendant'). The forms of order sought are payment of EUR 500 million and a declaration that the defendant is under an obligation to pay further damages. The Chamber has provisionally fixed the amount in dispute at up to EUR 2 billion.
The applicant claims that the defendant must pay damages. It violated its obligations under a Comfort Letter dated 28. April 2017. On that day, after intensive preliminary negotiations, the defendant signed a document confirming its intention to provide Air Berlin in any event with the necessary support for the next 18 months to enable its subsidiary to meet its financial obligations. Contrary to that commitment, it withdrew financial support from Air Berlin in August 2017, with the result that Air Berlin had to file for insolvency.
The applicant claims that the defendant has given a legally binding undertaking. Since it had breached that obligation, it had to settle all the creditors' legitimate claims. More than one million claims in the amount of more than a billion Euros have been filed but haven’t been fully examined by the administrator. The administrator had already examined three insolvency claims totalling just under EUR 500 million; according to the preliminary assessment, these were justified and therefore had to be determined in full to the insolvency table. According to the plaintiff, they could therefore demand payment of this corresponding amount from the defendant. Regarding the other claims filed, which the administrator had not yet examined and could not yet give any concrete figures. The administrator was therefore entitled to at least have established that the defendant owed damages in this regard.
After receipt of the statement of defence, for which the defendant has been set a deadline until the end of January 2019, the Chamber will discuss the further procedural steps. The progress of the proceedings, a possible appointment, will be reported from here.”
KEOS GbR ("KEOS"), as joint representative of the EUR 225,000,000, 2011/2018, 8.250% corporate bond issued by Air Berlin PLC ("PLC") (ISIN: DE000AB100B4 / WKN: AB100B) as a member of the creditors' committee, was informed about the procedure, but was not allowed to inform the bondholders due to the confidentiality obligation of the members of the creditors' committee.
In order to clarify the current situation of the insolvency proceedings, KEOS can add to the press release of the Regional Court of Berlin that the claim of the insolvency administrator for damages is pending for Air Berlin PLC. As stated in the press release of the Regional Court of Berlin, Etihad is expected to file a statement of defence by the end of January 2019.
OSA
