Judge Varda Alshech granted Burger King Israel a stay in proceedings against it until April 8.
Alshech noted that the arrangement submitted to her was extremely vague, with more left unsaid than said. She commented that most of the purported arrangement is a repeat of the original petition, and did not conform with the legislators’ intent in requiring that a proposed arrangement be appended to a petition for a stay of proceedings.
Alshech ruled that the current proposal did not meet the legal requirements, which stipulated exactly what such a proposal must include. Nevertheless, in view of Bank Hapoalim (LSE:BKHD; TASE:POLI) consent, she said Burger King Israel should be allowed to try to come to an arrangement. She therefore agreed to grant the petition, but shortened period of the stay of proceedings.
Alshech appointed Adv. Doron Tischmann as trustee, and authorized him to draw up a recovery plan and creditors arrangement, and operate Burger King Israel, with the help of the supervised assistance of its management, while conducting a thorough examination of the company operating, pricing, and financial data.
Alshech ordered Tischmann not to take new credit without permission, not to increase the company deficit, and to preserve a positive cash flow. If these conditions prove impossible to meet, Tischmann must immediately notify the court.
Alshech said that when an arrangement is submitted and her other conditions fulfilled, she would consider either shortening the stay of proceedings, or leaving it as is. She further ruled that the deadline for debt claims would be 30 days from the date of newspaper publication, and other actions not mentioned in her decision would be subject to the filing of appropriate petitions for guidance from the court.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on February 6, 2003