PwC push for Lehman's Scheme of Arrangement
Proposal which Big Four firm hopes will speed up the return of cash to creditors heard in the High Court
Administrators from PwC have made an appeal to the High Court in a bid to try
and accelerate efforts to return cash to creditors of Lehman Brothers’ European
operations.
If approved, the Scheme of Arrangement will see creditors with similar claims
grouped together into classes. PwC believes this will make it easier to achieve
the tough job of clawing back the assets before they eventually redistribute
them.
The firm has taken the move to speed up the process of returning client
assets, known as Trust Property. These assets take precedence over those of
unsecured creditors.
Every Trust Property creditor has a vote and agreement needs 75% of each
class by value and 50% by number,
the
FT reported.
PwC has also taken steps to guard against the possibility of the cash
recovered from the Trust Property being too low to cover its own fees.
The firm said in a statement on its website: ‘To the extent that the
Administrators are ultimately unable to recover out of the Trust Property their
reasonable remuneration, costs and expenses incurred in dealing with Trust
Property, whether pursuant to the proposed scheme of arrangement or otherwise,
they shall be so paid and indemnified out of the assets of LBIE.’