White & Case LLP - News - White & Case Partner Appointed Administrator in Restructuring of Schieder Möbel

Services	Sectors
Antitrust Asset Finance Banking Canada Capital Markets Climate Change Commercial Litigation Data Privacy Employment & Benefits Financial Restructuring and Insolvency India Indonesia Intellectual Property International Arbitration International Trade Israel Korea Latin America Mergers & Acquisitions Private Clients Pro Bono Project Finance Sovereign Wealth Funds Sovereigns Spain Taiwan Tax White Collar	Communications and Media Construction Environmental Funds Islamic Finance Mining and Metals Oil & Gas Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Power Real Estate Sourcing & Technology Transactions

North America	Latin America	Europe		Asia	Middle East/Africa
Los Angeles Miami New York Silicon Valley Washington, DC	Mexico City Monterrey São Paulo	Almaty Ankara Berlin Bratislava Brussels Bucharest Budapest Düsseldorf Frankfurt Geneva Hamburg	Helsinki Istanbul London Milan Moscow Munich Paris Prague Stockholm Warsaw	Beijing Hong Kong Shanghai Singapore Tokyo	Abu Dhabi Doha Johannesburg Riyadh

White & Case Partner Appointed Administrator in Restructuring of Schieder Möbel
Various German subsidiaries of Europe's Largest Furniture Maker File for Bankruptcy

Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, June 26, 2007 ... Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz, a partner at White & Case and insolvency administrator appointed by the Local Court of Hamburg since 1998, has today been appointed as bankruptcy administrator for Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH the holding company of the Schieder Group, Europe's largest furniture manufacturer. Yesterday, various subsidiaries of the Schieder Group in Germany filed for insolvency with the District Court in Detmold. In addition, insolvency proceedings concerning the assets of the parent company Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH, opened today through a ruling from the Detmold District Court. The Schieder Group employs more than 11,000 staff at a total of 41 locations across Europe and Asia, with a particular concentration in Poland. Schieder products are delivered to over 5,000 customers in 60 countries around the world.

Dr. Undritz was first appointed as interim bankruptcy administrator on June 15 by the Local Court of Detmold and has instigated a series of reorganisational measures since then. His role is to maintain and continue the business operations of Schieder Möbel, with the longer-term objective of reorganising the Schieder Group.

Last week, negotiations concerning the sale of the entire Schieder Group collapsed. The interim management had worked on a solution with several potential investors, but talks did not result in a positive outcome. Potential investors point out that it is currently impossible to calculate bad debt and the risk ensuing from alleged balance sheet manipulations by past management. Nevertheless, there is still interest on the part of several investors in acquiring major holdings from the Schieder Group. A bidding process for all subsidiaries affected has already been initiated by Dr. Undritz and his colleagues.

Consequently, Dr. Undritz believes that there is still an opportunity to save jobs in Germany. "It's now a matter of holding the Group together and quickly finding investors who will purchase major holdings from Schieder to get it out of insolvency. A purchase made through insolvency proceedings considerably minimizes the risk for investors," explained Dr. Undritz.

In addition, a further focus is the prompt supply of goods to customers, "The warehouses are full, so the distribution bottleneck has to be resolved," added Dr. Undritz.

Insolvency filings have not been made for a number of profitable subsidiaries of Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH, based in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and also in Germany and Poland. For many years, these subsidiaries have effectively been separate from the rest of the Schieder Group in terms of finance and operations.

"We now have to do everything possible in order to maintain the value of these subsidiaries, especially the one in Lichtenstein," explained Dr. Undritz. However, any reorganisation will only succeed if the creditors disregard short-term valuation measures, otherwise even the healthy subsidiaries will be threatened with closure. Talks are already being held with financial creditors on this matter. Internationale Möbel-Selection IMS AG in Bendern, Lichtenstein is one of the leading companies in the development, production and sale of furniture in Europe.

Dr. Undritz is a leading bankruptcy administrator in Germany and has extensive experience in the continuation and reorganisation of companies in the context of bankruptcy proceedings' having assisted 250 companies during insolvency, including PopNet Internet AG, a company listed on Germany's junior stock market Neuer Markt, and the ship accessory supplier Triton Format GmbH.

In handling the bankruptcy proceedings, Dr. Undritz is being assisted by a number of colleagues in both Germany and Poland. Partners from White & Case Insolvenz GbR have been appointed to handle the insolvency proceedings. These include: Dr. Biner Bähr (Düsseldorf) for PM Möbelwerk Steinheim GmbH & Co. KG in Steinheim; Bettina Schmudde (Dresden) for VIVA Polstermöbel-Werke GmbH & Co. KG in Storkow; and Sylvia Fiebig (Hamburg) for several sales offices of the Schieder Group.

White & Case has a leading bankruptcy law practice in Germany, numbering more than 40 lawyers and which, via its subsidiary White & Case Insolvenz GbR, includes 11 administrators based across ten locations throughout the country. White & Case was selected as Insolvency Law Firm of the Year 2003/2004 by German publication JUVE. The Firm’s global Financial Restructuring & Insolvency practice was recently ranked number one in the Daily Deal's bankruptcy table with a total of 534 active cases worldwide. The closest competitors total active case load was 281.

About White & Case
White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with more than 2,000 lawyers in 35 offices in 23 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, we provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business. Our clients value both the breadth of our network and depth of our US, English and local law capabilities in each of our offices and rely on us for their complex cross-border transactions, arbitration and litigation. Whether in established or emerging markets, the hallmark of White & Case is our complete dedication to the business priorities and legal needs of our clients.

Contact:
James Martin
Media Relations Mgr EMEA, White & Case
44 0 20 7532 2853/ 44 0 7939 012 011

Barbara Gruber
Media Relations Mgr Germany, White & Case
49 0 69 29994 1122

	Press Releases
Lawyers Dr. Biner Bähr Sylvia Fiebig Dr. Martin Heidrich Bettina Schmudde Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz Locations Hamburg Düsseldorf Frankfurt Munich	White & Case Partner Appointed Administrator in Restructuring of Schieder Möbel Various German subsidiaries of Europe's Largest Furniture Maker File for Bankruptcy Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, June 26, 2007 ... Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz, a partner at White & Case and insolvency administrator appointed by the Local Court of Hamburg since 1998, has today been appointed as bankruptcy administrator for Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH the holding company of the Schieder Group, Europe's largest furniture manufacturer. Yesterday, various subsidiaries of the Schieder Group in Germany filed for insolvency with the District Court in Detmold. In addition, insolvency proceedings concerning the assets of the parent company Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH, opened today through a ruling from the Detmold District Court. The Schieder Group employs more than 11,000 staff at a total of 41 locations across Europe and Asia, with a particular concentration in Poland. Schieder products are delivered to over 5,000 customers in 60 countries around the world. Dr. Undritz was first appointed as interim bankruptcy administrator on June 15 by the Local Court of Detmold and has instigated a series of reorganisational measures since then. His role is to maintain and continue the business operations of Schieder Möbel, with the longer-term objective of reorganising the Schieder Group. Last week, negotiations concerning the sale of the entire Schieder Group collapsed. The interim management had worked on a solution with several potential investors, but talks did not result in a positive outcome. Potential investors point out that it is currently impossible to calculate bad debt and the risk ensuing from alleged balance sheet manipulations by past management. Nevertheless, there is still interest on the part of several investors in acquiring major holdings from the Schieder Group. A bidding process for all subsidiaries affected has already been initiated by Dr. Undritz and his colleagues. Consequently, Dr. Undritz believes that there is still an opportunity to save jobs in Germany. "It's now a matter of holding the Group together and quickly finding investors who will purchase major holdings from Schieder to get it out of insolvency. A purchase made through insolvency proceedings considerably minimizes the risk for investors," explained Dr. Undritz. In addition, a further focus is the prompt supply of goods to customers, "The warehouses are full, so the distribution bottleneck has to be resolved," added Dr. Undritz. Insolvency filings have not been made for a number of profitable subsidiaries of Schieder Möbel Holding GmbH, based in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and also in Germany and Poland. For many years, these subsidiaries have effectively been separate from the rest of the Schieder Group in terms of finance and operations. "We now have to do everything possible in order to maintain the value of these subsidiaries, especially the one in Lichtenstein," explained Dr. Undritz. However, any reorganisation will only succeed if the creditors disregard short-term valuation measures, otherwise even the healthy subsidiaries will be threatened with closure. Talks are already being held with financial creditors on this matter. Internationale Möbel-Selection IMS AG in Bendern, Lichtenstein is one of the leading companies in the development, production and sale of furniture in Europe. Dr. Undritz is a leading bankruptcy administrator in Germany and has extensive experience in the continuation and reorganisation of companies in the context of bankruptcy proceedings' having assisted 250 companies during insolvency, including PopNet Internet AG, a company listed on Germany's junior stock market Neuer Markt, and the ship accessory supplier Triton Format GmbH. In handling the bankruptcy proceedings, Dr. Undritz is being assisted by a number of colleagues in both Germany and Poland. Partners from White & Case Insolvenz GbR have been appointed to handle the insolvency proceedings. These include: Dr. Biner Bähr (Düsseldorf) for PM Möbelwerk Steinheim GmbH & Co. KG in Steinheim; Bettina Schmudde (Dresden) for VIVA Polstermöbel-Werke GmbH & Co. KG in Storkow; and Sylvia Fiebig (Hamburg) for several sales offices of the Schieder Group. White & Case has a leading bankruptcy law practice in Germany, numbering more than 40 lawyers and which, via its subsidiary White & Case Insolvenz GbR, includes 11 administrators based across ten locations throughout the country. White & Case was selected as Insolvency Law Firm of the Year 2003/2004 by German publication JUVE. The Firm’s global Financial Restructuring & Insolvency practice was recently ranked number one in the Daily Deal's bankruptcy table with a total of 534 active cases worldwide. The closest competitors total active case load was 281. About White & Case White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with more than 2,000 lawyers in 35 offices in 23 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, we provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business. Our clients value both the breadth of our network and depth of our US, English and local law capabilities in each of our offices and rely on us for their complex cross-border transactions, arbitration and litigation. Whether in established or emerging markets, the hallmark of White & Case is our complete dedication to the business priorities and legal needs of our clients. Contact: James Martin Media Relations Mgr EMEA, White & Case 44 0 20 7532 2853/ 44 0 7939 012 011 Barbara Gruber Media Relations Mgr Germany, White & Case 49 0 69 29994 1122