4 May 2021 – On 18 August 2020, Valaris plc (one of the largest oil rig owning companies in the world) filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas with over USD7 billion of financial debt.

Walder Wyss advised with respect to Swiss law and Swiss assets a bondholder group with over USD 4 billion of debt of Valaris in negotiations to restructure its balance sheet, resulting in a USD 500 million in debtor-in-possession financing approved by the bankruptcy court in September 2020 and the emergence on 30 April 2021 of Valaris and its affiliated debtors from Chapter 11 bankruptcy following a successful in-court restructuring process, reducing the company’s funded debt from more than USD 7 billion to USD 550 million in the form of new secured notes.

The team was led by Tervel Stoyanov (Counsel, Finance/Restructuring).