The 'Technicolor Soap Opera': And If Nothing had Really Been Settled? - Over and Over Gain: Another Example of the Flaws of French Bankruptcy law

Abstract

The recent debt reduction operation carried out by Technicolor using the proceeds of two capital increases (one reserved for an institutional investor, the other maintaining shareholders’ preferential subscription rights), just two years after the end of the bankruptcy proceedings, raises questions as to the pertinence of French legal rules on distressed businesses. This iconic case reveals the difficulties French companies have reorganizing in a secure framework, sufficiently in advance of difficulties and in a way that can be useful to the future sustainability of their activities.

Keywords: French law, bankruptcy law, insolvency law, hybrid bonds, law & economics, residual owner, secondary loan market, private investment in public equity, PIPE

JEL Classification: K20, K22, K29