Omni Bridgeway resolves to fund claims on behalf of Wirecard AG shareholders against Ernst & Young GmbH

LONDON, 28 July 2020: Omni Bridgeway Limited announces that it has resolved to fund proposed litigation to be brought by shareholders of Wirecard AG against its auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH. Such litigation will be brought in Germany by leading international law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.


BACKGROUND

German company Wirecard AG was compelled to initiate insolvency proceedings in Germany on 25 June 2020. The catalyst for this inevitability was that its auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH, informed Wirecard AG on 18 June 2020 that no sufficient audit evidence could be obtained in relation to cash balances in trust accounts that were to be consolidated in the consolidated financial statements in the amount of EUR 1.9bn. A matter of days afterwards, Wirecard AG was then forced to acknowledge that the EUR 1.9bn in cash included in those financial statements probably never existed in the first place. The consequence of the recent actions of Wirecard AG is that the share price of Wirecard AG has dropped by over 95%.

In these circumstances, shareholders have rightly turned their attentions to the auditor who has been in post since 2008. All of the audits of Wirecard AG have been unqualified. This is despite the fact that, over the last years, Wirecard AG has been the subject of intense scrutiny by shareholders, short sellers, journalists and regulators. Wirecard AG has also been the subject of two key external reviews – one by Rajah & Tann, a respected Singapore law firm, and the other by KPMG.

PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR WIRECARD AG SHAREHOLDERS

Jeremy Marshall, Senior Investment Manager of Omni Bridgeway, said “Shareholders have understandably relied increasingly heavily on the audited financials of Wirecard. The nature of the Wirecard insolvency is such that it was inevitable that serious claims would be levelled against the auditor, and it is only right that we provide shareholders with the opportunity for redress, particularly where their prospects of a modest recovery against Wirecard itself are so limited.

WHAT AFFECTED SHAREHOLDERS CAN DO

Shareholders who purchased shares in Wirecard AG since 1 April 2012 are encouraged to contact:

ABOUT OMNI BRIDGEWAY

Omni Bridgeway is the global leader in dispute resolution finance, with expertise in civil and common law legal and recovery systems, and operations spanning Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the UK and the US. Omni Bridgeway offers dispute finance from case inception through to post-judgment enforcement and recovery. Since 1986, it has established a proud record of funding disputes and enforcement proceedings around the world.

Omni Bridgeway is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:OBL) and includes the leading dispute funders formerly known as IMF Bentham Limited, Bentham IMF and ROLAND ProzessFinanz. It also includes a joint venture with IFC (part of the World Bank Group). Visit omnibridgeway.com to learn more.

ABOUT QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN LLP

Quinn Emanuel is the largest law firm in the world dedicated solely to the resolution of business disputes. Quinn have 800+ attorneys working in 23 offices in ten countries around the world, including 4 offices in Germany. Quinn Emanuel sees litigation as an independent practice that calls for a high degree of specialization. As an integral part of the firm’s international network of offices, Quinn Emanuel’s German legal team is dedicated to providing the highest standards of service, professional excellence, industry knowledge and experience that firm clients expect.

Quinn Emanuel has taken a leading role in some of the largest security cases that are currently pending before the German courts, including the representation of the largest group of investors (by damages) participating in model case proceedings against Volkswagen AG in the Higher District Court of Brunswick centering on the so-called “Dieselgate” scandal. Quinn also represented a group of Tier-1 bondholders in litigation against Hamburg Commercial Bank.

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Pegasus Legal Capital Completes $74 Million Securitization to Fuel Growth

Pegasus Legal Capital, LLC ("Pegasus") (mylawfunds.com), a prominent pre-settlement legal funding company in the United States, announced today that it has successfully completed a $74 million litigation finance securitization. This achievement marks Pegasus' second securitization transaction in the asset class and another significant milestone in its capital market journey. The proceeds from this transaction will further propel Pegasus' growth across key markets in the United States.

Pegasus Managing Director, Alexander Khanas, expressed, "With the successful completion of this transaction, Pegasus will expand its business in the personal injury market while upholding its industry-leading service standards."

GreensLedge Capital Markets LLC played the role of Placement Agent for Pegasus. GreensLedge Senior Managing Director, Douglas Lipton, added, "We are delighted to continue expanding Pegasus' investor base through their second securitization issuance and assisting them in creatively developing their platform."

Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Pegasus was founded in 2008 as a pre-settlement litigation finance company. Since its inception, the company's management team has successfully sourced, underwritten, and serviced over half a billion dollars through more than 30,000 advances. While Pegasus has traditionally focused on the New York market, it has established a strong presence in the Southeast and Texas markets as well.

Pegasus is a proud member of the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), a national organization comprising companies that provide non-recourse funds to personal injury victims. ALFA's primary objective is to establish industry standards for transparency in legal funding transactions, ensuring upfront and clear disclosure to consumers.

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New Burford Capital Research Reveals How Businesses are Preparing for Likely Rise in Global Energy Transition Disputes

By Harry Moran |

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new research entitled “Energy transition disputes: GCs and senior lawyers on the business impacts of legal challenges to come,” which demonstrates how businesses are preparing for a likely rise in legal disputes related to the global energy transition. This transition―or the shift to renewable sources of energy―is likely to cause an increase in expensive commercial disputes.

Businesses are investing significant sums in this transition, and corporate commitments highlight the scale of economic engagement as they invest in the new technologies, infrastructure and other resources that will be needed. But multifaceted legal and commercial pressures present businesses with a myriad of potential challenges including contractual disagreements, regulatory compliance issues and the need for intellectual property enforcement or litigation. Burford’s research report aims to offer a unique perspective on how corporations foresee the expected rise in litigation and arbitration related to this energy transition, examining the areas of business impact related to this evolving landscape.

Burford commissioned this independent research by capturing insights from 300 GCs and heads of litigation across key industries impacted by the energy transition and spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Key findings from the study include:

Disputes relating to the energy transition are rising

·       76% of GCs report they are already encountering disputes related to the energy transition and nearly half (47%) expect a further rise in the volume of such disputes in the next decade, driven by evolving laws, new technologies and infrastructure requirements.

Disputes relating to the energy transition are expected to be costly

·       Almost two in three GCs (63%) expect legal fees and expenses to exceed $4 million per energy transition case; a notable minority (29%) expect per case costs to exceed $10 million.

·       Over half (52%) view high costs as a significant factor in deciding not to pursue disputes.

·       Half (50%) of GCs agree that the energy transition will create the need for additional capital sources for the business.

Expected disputes span all types of business conflict

·       GCs are most likely to predict (77%) that the energy transition will result in more contractual disputes and commercial arbitration.

·       Joint ventures are expected to be particularly prone to disputes over profit allocation (76%) and intellectual property rights (65%).

·       Over half of GCs (57%) also expect their businesses to face arbitrations to resolve investor-state conflicts relating to the transition.

New tools are needed to manage the rising dispute costs

·       Legal finance is increasingly used to mitigate the financial burden of these disputes; three in four (75%) GCs have used or would consider using legal finance to offset the cost of disputes relating to this transition.

·       In particular, GCs value monetization―or advancing some of the expected entitlement of a pending claim, judgment or award― to generate liquidity from claims tied up in litigation and arbitration. With legal finance, companies can also offset the cost of pursuing affirmative litigation to generate liquidity, shifting legal departments from cost centers to value drivers.

Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said: “Businesses face significant challenges related to the global energy transition due to cross-border projects, differing legal frameworks and rapidly evolving policies. Additionally, long-term energy contracts may not keep pace with energy markets and technologies, resulting in conflicts among stakeholders. Burford’s latest research demonstrates the value of corporate finance for law, as legal finance helps companies manage the high costs of energy transition disputes and allows them to pursue meritorious claims without depleting resources.”

Burford’s research is based on a 2024 survey conducted by GLG and is supplemented by interviews with ten global energy transition experts conducted by Ari Kaplan Advisors.

The research report can be downloaded on Burford’s website.

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By Harry Moran |

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Sadler focuses on diligence around qualified underwriting opportunities and monitoring and managing the firm’s patent litigation investments.

Before joining GLS Capital, Sadler was a patent litigator at Global IP Law Group in Chicago. She has over a decade of experience with all aspects of patent portfolio management and enforcement, including prosecution, litigation, sales, licensing, and portfolio valuation.

Sadler earned her J.D. (cum laude) from DePaul University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego.

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