Santamarina y Steta, SC advised Koblenz Eléctrica, SA de CV (“Koblenz”) on the acquisition of certain assets of Winia Electronics Home Appliance de México, SA de CV (“Winia”), which represented a substantial part of its production lines in Mexico, in the context of Winia's bankruptcy proceedings.
Winia, formerly known as Daewoo Electronics, was the third-largest electronics company in South Korea and had operations in more than 40 countries. The transaction took place amid significant financial stress, with Winia facing bankruptcy proceedings in both Mexico and South Korea.
The transaction required the design and implementation of a comprehensive strategy for the acquisition of assets within a bankruptcy proceeding, including obtaining judicial authorizations, as well as structuring legal mechanisms that would allow the transfer of assets free of liens, limitations of ownership and other charges or encumbrances.
The closing of the operation involved close coordination with the trustee appointed in the bankruptcy proceedings, competent judicial and registry authorities, as well as creditors and other interested third parties, and required the participation of multidisciplinary teams to address the corporate, bankruptcy, real estate and registry aspects inherent to the operation.
The success of this transaction sets an important precedent in Mexico regarding the structuring and implementation of asset acquisition strategies in bankruptcy proceedings.
Santamarina y Steta, SC acted as legal advisor to Koblenz through a multidisciplinary team led by the transactional area headed by Juan Carlos Machorro, along with Raziel Celis, as well as the support of Alejandro Escamilla, from the area of Restructuring and Commercial Bankruptcy and the real estate team led by Claudia Rodríguez.
