I think that's what the economist refers to as well; otherwise the owners will have to pay the debt or personally go bankrupt (and
that IS a bad thing). I think the economist refers to limited liability companies which are liable to the starting capital and the bad thing is, they say, that
even those, where you know the outcome, are taking so long.
This is because every party involved who wants money from that bankrupt company stands to gain if they can show that there was malpractice going on. If this can be shown, the shareholders (if they have more than 4.9%) become liable personally and then there is something to get (while usually, after the taxes visited the carcass, there is nothing left). This is why sometimes it takes a long time to resolve.