Insolvenzquote (payout ratio)
The share of their filed claim that unsecured insolvency creditors actually receive at the end of the proceeding. In Germany, historically in the low single-digit to low double-digit percent range.
The Insolvenzquote is the ratio between the final distribution paid to unsecured creditors (§§ 196 et seq. InsO) and the sum of their confirmed claims. It is only calculated at the very end of the proceeding, after estate costs (§ 54 InsO) and estate liabilities (§ 55 InsO) have been settled with priority — unsecured creditors rank behind both.
Statistically, the average payout ratio for regular German insolvency proceedings is usually in the low-to-mid single-digit percent range; well-run proceedings with a valuable estate or a successful going-concern sale can achieve materially more. Priority creditors (holders of separate-satisfaction rights, estate creditors) are paid ahead of the ratio regardless.
For buyers, the expected ratio matters indirectly: a good realisation — especially a going-concern sale instead of a break-up — typically raises the ratio and with it the deal's acceptance by the creditors' committee and assembly. An offer that visibly improves the ratio has an edge in bidder competition, even when the nominal purchase price isn't the highest.
Related terms
- → Estate insufficiency (§ 208 InsO)— The administrator's notice to the insolvency court that the estate can no longer cover exi…
- → Liquidation value vs. going-concern value— Two valuation benchmarks for the insolvency estate: proceeds from piecemeal liquidation ve…
- → Gläubigerausschuss (creditors' committee)— Oversight body appointed by the court or creditors' assembly that supervises the administr…
- → § 9 InsO (insolvency announcements)— German statutory rule on public announcements in insolvency proceedings. Requires opening …
- → Masseverbindlichkeit (estate liability, § 55 InsO)— A liability the administrator incurs against the insolvency estate after proceedings open …