Debtwired! The Fossil restructuring, and getting creative outside of Chapter 11 with Weil
Mar 31, 2026
Gary Holzer, a Weil partner in New York with 33 years focusing on cross-border restructurings, and Sunny Singh, a Weil restructuring partner with 20+ years handling in- and out-of-court deals. They discuss why some companies avoid Chapter 11, Fossil’s capital-structure challenge and its out-of-court UK-linked solution, mechanics of exchanges and plans, and risks like holdouts and litigation.
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Fossil Restructured Retail Bonds Without Chapter 11
- Fossil used a stapled UK restructuring plan plus an SEC-registered exchange to fix a single tranche of retail bonds without filing Chapter 11.
- Sunny Singh described extending maturities, raising rates, and keeping NASDAQ-listed equity intact while binding retail bondholders via an English plan.
Stapling A UK Plan Can Solve Retail Bond Numerosity
- Stapling an English restructuring plan to a registered exchange can create a UK guarantor, secure jurisdiction, and bind widely held retail bonds that are hard to herd in the U.S.
- Gary Holzer noted the deal raised Fossil's market cap from $80m to over $200m and extended bond maturities while keeping equity trading.
Match Restructuring Tools To Company Objectives
- Treat out-of-court restructurings as a tailored toolbox choice, not a one-size-fits-all fix; weigh operational disruption, numerosity, and market consequences.
- Sunny Singh advised combining techniques from past deals and innovating to match each client's objectives and constraints.