Restructuring across borders: Toolkit for Netherlands

The Netherlands' Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord, known as the WHOA, has rapidly established itself as one of Europe's most significant additions to the restructuring toolkit. A debtor-in-possession, court-confirmed procedure, it enables struggling businesses to restructure their debts outside of formal insolvency proceedings while retaining the ability to bind dissenting creditors where the court approves the plan. Since its introduction, it has attracted both domestic and cross-border use. 

Christopher Poel, senior knowledge lawyer at A&O Shearman, is joined by Geza Orban and Gijs Kerstjens from A&O Shearman's Amsterdam Restructuring team. The discussion examines how the WHOA operates in practice, how it compares with other pre-insolvency tools available in the Netherlands, and the key areas of focus and challenge that have emerged from its deployment in recent restructurings. What conditions must be met for a debtor to access the WHOA? How have Dutch courts approached the confirmation of contested plans? And what recent developments are most relevant for creditors with Dutch law-governed exposures or counterparties? 

Cross-border restructuring advisers, distressed debt investors, and creditors with Dutch exposures will leave this episode with a practical understanding of how the WHOA works, where it has been tested, and what its expanding track record tells us about its strategic value. 

Restructuring Across Borders maps the restructuring and insolvency landscape across more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide, drawing on the expertise of A&O Shearman's global restructuring group and its partner law firms. Each episode examines the pre-insolvency tools, court-supervised procedures, and emerging developments in a specific jurisdiction, with a focus on the practical implications for debtors, creditors, and cross-border advisers. The series accompanies A&O Shearman's Restructuring Across Borders Toolkit, a free reference resource available at aoshearman.com.