Stocche Forbes, Otterbourg and Chediak Lopes da Costa Cristofaro Menezes Côrtes Simões advised on the transaction. Otterbourg advised Melanie L. Cyganowski – the receiver appointed by the tribunal to manage Platinum Partners assets.
Chediak Lopes da Costa Cristofaro Menezes Côrtes Simões advised West Ventures LLC.
Interview with Melanie L. Cyganowski, as Receiver.
Please tell me your motivation of being involved in this deal?
As the court-appointed receiver of this asset, I had a fiduciary obligation to obtain the greatest value I could for the investors and creditors of the estate. Prior to my appointment, this asset had been touted as the crown-jewel of the Platinum Partners portfolio, and so many parties in interest had significant expectations as to the outcome.
Because of the high-profile nature of the asset, as well as its potential, yet uncertain value, I was extremely motivated to make sure we conducted a prudent sales process that would withstand scrutiny and be acceptable to the Court and other parties in interest.
Why is this a good deal for all involved?
This is a good deal for all involved because it provides a significant upfront cash recovery for the estate for which I am the receiver, as well as a potential valuable backend recovery, depending on the volume of gold the buyer is able to extract. For the buyer, it represents a potentially lucrative enterprise going forward.
What challenges arose? How did you navigate them?
This was a very challenging transaction for a number of reasons. In order to arrive at a successful closing, we had to surmount both business and legal obstacles, including regulatory and permitting requirements, tax hurdles, terminated leases for the property on which operations were to be conducted, and objections to the sale brought before the New York Court, to name a few. We were able to overcome these difficulties because my legal and business advisers, both in New York and Brazil, worked collaboratively with each other, as well as with their counterparts, to arrive at a successful closing following nearly a year of intensive effort.
