The Key to Lock-up Arrangements: Singapore High Court issues first written guidance on lock-up agreements in Schemes of Arrangement

Singapore: Can distressed companies seeking to undergo a scheme of arrangement win creditors over by offering benefits in exchange for favourable votes? A recent High Court decision has, for the first time, illuminated the principles on the use and limits of “lock-up agreements” in a proposed scheme. In this article, we analyse the Honourable Justice Aedit Abdullah’s decision in Re Brightoil Petroleum (S’pore) Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 35, and consider the impact of the decision on the wider insolvency and restructuring landscape in Singapore law.