December 2021 Issue
A dramatic loss of revenue for many companies led to a wave of distressed M&A opportunities over the past 18 months, with investors taking advantage of an initial wave of insolvencies and lower asset valuations. Many of these opportunities arose in sectors hit hard by COVID-19, as well as significantly leveraged companies looking to sell assets to strengthen their balance sheets. And while the distressed market may currently be at its slowest in more than 30 years, an increase in activity is expected in the near future.
FW: What do you consider to be the main trends and developments to have dominated the distressed M&A market over the past 12 months or so?
Yeoh: In the earlier stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we anticipated a boom in distressed M&A activity. This largely did not materialise due to a combination of government support and stimulus packages, legislative measures introduced to help stave off insolvency proceedings, low interest rates continuing to fuel investment and growth, and investors with large amounts of cash to invest. Markets and economies have bounced back quickly after initial periods of uncertainty and inactivity. This was particularly so in Asia which was hit by COVID-19 earlier but also recovered earlier. Distressed M&A opportunities have arisen in sectors hard hit by COVID-19, as well as significantly leveraged companies looking to sell assets to strengthen their balance sheets.
Brenner: Although gross domestic product (GDP) started to drop in 2020 after 10 years of cyclical upturn, the number of distressed transactions has remained low. Governmental support has enabled companies in distress to line their pockets with cheap government-backed loans and non-repayable allowances. By way of example, the short-time work allowance has given companies the flexibility to carefully do the math between taking on non-profitable orders versus reducing costs by laying off their employees. As a result of governmental measures designed to overcome the crisis, insolvencies are at an historically low level, and the companies that have gone into insolvency either were in a desperate situation or used insolvency as a pre-pack to enable operational turnaround. Another consequence of these measures is that companies are overleveraged, which will partially drive the upcoming distressed cycle.
Watson: The last 12 months have been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of government-imposed lockdowns. The full impact will only be truly understood in the years to come but some trends manifested themselves quickly; in particular, a dramatic and protracted loss of revenue for many businesses and the acceleration of fundamental shifts in certain consumer habits. As a result, 2020 offered some distressed M&A opportunities, with investors able to take advantage of an initial wave of insolvencies and lower asset valuations. However, a combination of extensive and unprecedented government support, an extraordinarily deep sea of liquidity in the credit and capital markets, and supportive incumbent lenders cushioned the blow for many businesses and kept both default and insolvency rates comparatively low. As such, we have witnessed fewer distressed M&A transactions than might have been expected.
Husnick: Just 12 months ago, we were on the trailing end of the busiest restructuring market in history and now we are in the midst of one of the slowest restructuring markets in history. Despite the decrease in distressed M&A activity, the trend for distressed transactions has been a continued focus on speed and efficiency. With debt and equity markets as frothy as they are, a distressed company that is unable to access those markets is truly in dire straits and perhaps on the verge of extinction. In these situations, there is a renewed need to move with alacrity to implement any transaction, whether a standalone restructuring, a sale transaction, or any other restructuring transaction. Many of these transactions are completed on an extraordinarily short time frame with a minimal budget for professional fees.
Walter: There have not been as many distressed M&A opportunities as one would expect, off the back of a global pandemic. Various financial assistance and support provided by the Australian federal and state governments, such as the JobKeeper Payment and tax relief measures, have been very effective at suppressing the number of formal insolvencies. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep rates at the historic low of 0.1 percent, and the well-capitalised local banking system have also played significant parts in that suppression. Those measures in turn saw many financiers implement ‘amend and extend’ solutions across pandemic-impacted businesses during 2020 and into 2021. So, completely contrary to instinct, formal insolvencies and thus distressed M&A has trended meaningfully downward in 2020 and 2021. That said, there have been some major pandemic-linked transactions – for instance, the restructuring and distressed acquisition of Virgin Australia Airlines by Bain Capital. And capital raisings in pandemic-impacted industries have been common, such as the rounds of raisings by Flight Centre. Furthermore, we are now starting to see activity in pandemic-impacted industries, such as retail and education, start to emerge. This is driven in large part by impending debt maturities, or significant amortisation obligations, where an impacted business now has a revenue base and built-up trading debt that is making refinancing very difficult. These businesses are likely to be busy with restructuring into 2022.
“There remains significant appetite for investment in distressed assets, not least because valuation levels in ‘regular way’ M&A are sky high.”
FW: How would you characterise the current appetite of distressed investors? Are certain types of assets proving attractive?
Brenner: Investors’ appetite is still high. They continue to receive funds from, among others, high net worth individuals, pension funds and insurance companies due to the continued low interest rate policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). As a result, the environment for investors gets more and more competitive and investment pressure is increasing. Therefore, and given the limited number of deals available in the market, investors have broadened their investment spectrum and softened up their investment criteria. The pandemic certainly changed the way investors are looking at industries and business models, as some have proven to be more ‘pandemic resistant’ than others. Furthermore, the outcome of the pandemic added some risk factors on ‘just in time delivery’ business models that rely on availability and pricing of raw materials and shipping. On the upside, business models that address upside factors like transformation, digitalisation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) proved to be more attractive given their positive impact on exit values.
Watson: There remains significant appetite for investment in distressed assets, not least because valuation levels in ‘regular way’ M&A are sky high. However, investors have found themselves largely frustrated by the lack of available opportunities – given the public and private sector support for businesses and consumers – and the market is fiercely competitive as strategic and institutional investors, with money burning a hole in their pockets, scrap over the few candidates that present themselves. Accordingly, participants are having to be agile, astute and well-advised to locate and execute profitable transactions. Some market players have broadened their gaze to look at less well-known sectors and assets which are not their traditional focus in order to seek out the returns their investors demand. Retail and casual dining are notable sectors in which distressed M&A activity has been heightened during the pandemic.
Husnick: Money is available, but targets are few and far between. On the heels of the historically high levels of distressed activity, distressed funds raised billions of dollars in commitments for distressed and special situations. Deal activity, however, has waned significantly in 2021. Most remaining activity can be found in the energy and retail spaces. Restructuring experts are watching the commercial real estate and hospitality industries closely to see whether companies in those industries will rebound sufficiently to stave off formal restructuring, and healthcare and automotive suppliers which must adjust to regulatory changes and increased demand for electric vehicles, respectively.
Walter: Australia is a very attractive market for distressed investors – and their appetite to deploy capital in this market is strong. Quality opportunities always see plenty of competition for opportunities driven by both foreign and domestic players. That said, there is caution around what are viewed as being very high asset prices in various ‘safe haven’ sectors, such as real estate and infrastructure. Of particular interest is quality resources-related assets, outside of thermal coal, which is challenging for many investors on ESG grounds. There is also strong interest in various of the real estate sub-sectors, including residential, hotel and leisure and industrial assets. While difficult to transact at the moment, investors also have strong interest in renewable energy assets that require additional capital. In contrast, we have seen that distressed investors have largely been avoiding early-stage tech-related businesses – appetite for funding technology development risk in a loss-making business is very limited and is being left for more traditional venture capital players.
Yeoh: Like many other financial investors, distressed investors have a large amount of funds to invest and are finding it competitive and challenging to find good deals at the right prices. This means that the appetite for distressed investors remains high. On the top of the list are businesses which may be suffering temporary setbacks and cash flow issues as a result of the pandemic, but where there is a clear pathway to recovery as the effects of the pandemic subside. The amount of money available for investment plus higher growth opportunities in Asia means a very active market for the deployment of investment capital.
“On the heels of the historically high levels of distressed activity, distressed funds raised billions of dollars in commitments for distressed and special situations. Deal activity, however, has waned significantly in 2021.”
FW: What particular challenges does the distressed M&A process generally involve, compared to ‘traditional’ M&A? For example, what considerations need to be made when structuring and financing this type of deal?
Watson: The main challenges are timetable and risk allocation, both amounting to increased risk for the purchaser. Processes are often accelerated and access to information and management will be limited, making a fulsome diligence process impossible. Representations and warranties are also often minimal, particularly on any sale by an insolvency officeholder. Expectations therefore need to be calibrated accordingly and the increased risk reflected in the pricing. Bidders will also need to factor in any new money injection that may be required, and the impact of any insolvency mechanism used to deliver the transaction. An insolvency officeholder will prefer a funded offer and the price to be paid in cash on completion and will be less attracted to a bid that includes any deferred consideration or ‘true-up’. Where an insolvency process is used to deliver assets across multiple jurisdictions, specialist legal advice may be required with respect to international recognition, particularly post-Brexit.
Husnick: Distressed M&A moves very quickly. Typically a number of factors drive the need and timing for a distressed transaction, including liquidity shortfalls, upcoming debt maturities or covenant defaults. Unfortunately procrastination is endemic in the distressed industry as many companies are concerned about acknowledging distress too early, making a restructuring a fait accompli, and distressed investors, who naturally triage their relatively busy desks, rarely focus on a particular deal until the situation has reached the point of no return. That said, creditors have become more aggressive, looking for potential distressed opportunities where liability management and other strategies can be used to extract value. Companies should anticipate potential distress and take proactive measures to identify and craft solutions to the distress. For example, companies should understand and be familiar with the flexibility within their financial documents. All too often companies are caught flat-footed and unprepared for creditor engagement.
Yeoh: Timing is critical for distressed M&A transactions and will determine the structure and overall terms of the deal. Acquiring an asset from a seller in some financial difficulty but pre-default is an entirely different style of transaction to acquiring assets from a liquidator. We suggest investigating potential deals early – as time elapses, the risks are an erosion in value and goodwill and a lower likelihood of being able to negotiate contractual protections. The emphasis on timing often means that the deals which will get across the line are those which are less complex in structure and have fewer conditions attached.
Walter: A key challenge in this market is availability of quality, reliable and timely financial and management information – this can make the due diligence process time consuming and slow, in a circumstance where speed and a sense of urgency is often needed. The importance of quality due diligence is then underscored by the representations, warranties and indemnities typically offered by a target in distress. In this market, it is common in distressed M&A for those contractual protections to be minimal or completely disclaimed. This of course makes high quality due diligence essential. That is particularly the case given the considerable tightening of the market for warranty and indemnity insurance in Australia for these kinds of transactions. This insurance is not often available and is expensive whenever it is available. Maintaining the focus of the target’s board is also a key challenge to overcome. Director liability in Australia continues to be a real issue – and cause for distraction, or departures, during a time of distress. An adept distressed investor will spend real time working on this issue – keeping the target board comfortable and focused on the transaction, rather than on their personal liability risk. Approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) may be necessary if the buyer is a foreign entity. Given that distressed M&A tends to be an expedited process, regard must be had for the FIRB timeline, and early assessment of and preparation for any required FIRB approval is crucial.
Brenner: Distressed M&A transactions come with particular challenges including stakeholder management, speed of process, limits to due diligence and contractual protection. Only investors who understand structuring possibilities, valuation and pricing of risks including insolvency-related risks such as claw-back scenarios, and the tight timeline, have a chance to succeed. Due to the limited time and incomplete information available, due diligence usually focuses on key areas of upsides and risks. The key challenge is to quickly identify the value drivers in order to develop a turnaround concept and an equity story. When it comes to structuring considerations, asset sales are usually preferred as investors can limit risks and cherry-pick. From a more tactical point of view, pursuing a loan-to-own strategy has proven to be a successful option when done the right way. When looking at the financing of such deals, apart from financing the purchase price, investors must take into consideration the company’s working capital needs until the company is bankable again.
“In a distress situation, the adviser has a more active role than in traditional M&A; understanding and managing the key stakeholders’ sensitivities is pivotal.”
FW: What strategies and methodologies should be employed to value distressed companies, identify and manage potential risks, and lay the groundwork for maximising return on investment down the line?
Walter: Given the likely absence of meaningful representation and warranty protection, it is essential to understand what you are buying. In our recent experience, particular areas for focus should include the following. First, employment terms and potential liabilities. Australia is a highly regulated employment market, and employee claims rank ahead of other ordinary unsecured claims on the employer company, and also rank ahead of some secured claims. Second, tax liabilities and the prospect of contingent tax disputes. Areas such as the ‘Research and Development’ incentive have been rife with claw-back efforts by tax authorities, and we are now seeing similar claw-back activity emerging from the pandemic-response packages implemented during 2020. Third, expanding on wider regulatory investigations or liabilities for the business. Depending on the sector of the target, regulators in areas such as environmental protection, securities and anti-money laundering have been very active – and can be a source of significant unexpected liability or diminution in asset value. Fourth, for resources industry targets, mine plan and status of tenements. Often for a distressed target, these key assets have not been properly maintained, leading to significant need for both operating and capital expenditure – which is not included in existing business plans or budgets. Finally, quality of receivables. In our experience, particularly in the construction sector, receivables books are often heavily impaired and difficult to collect. Valuing these conservatively is prudent.
Brenner: Valuation methods used for traditional M&A such as discounted cash flows and multiples are usually not suitable to value a distressed situation given negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) or cash flows. Such methods can be used as a benchmark on the basis of a turnaround concept. However, buyers will want to make risk deductions, apart from the obvious ones derived from a red flag report and the risk of a successful turnaround. Insolvency related risks must be taken into consideration, such as challenges around intragroup transactions in future insolvency. When evaluating the downside, the realisation value marks the bottom line in lender-led processes. In order to obtain the financing parties’ consent to a deal, earn-out mechanisms in their favour should also be considered.
Yeoh: Distressed M&A investors have a multitude of strategies to employ in order to maximise returns. Considerations include whether to acquire the shares or assets of a distressed company, whether to negotiate a pre-packaged sale – in jurisdictions where this is possible – and whether to acquire a piece of secured senior debt in order to be in a strong bargaining position to execute a loan-to-own strategy. Valuation during a pandemic is clearly a tricky issue – it is often the case that the future scenarios for modelling outcomes and value are at this stage still unclear. It is often difficult in distressed scenarios to utilise pricing structures which deal with uncertain valuations, such as earn outs or hold backs, and investors often need to price in the risk of uncertainty in their overall valuation.
Husnick: Valuation is extraordinarily difficult in the current environment. For example, take Washington Prime Group (WPG) – a retail mall operator comprising 100 malls across the US. WPG negotiated a deleveraging transaction with its largest creditor constituencies that contemplated a significant – albeit below market expectations – recovery for its existing equity holders. As WPG was finalising negotiations around its creditor-led plan, mall traffic began to rebound with the increase in vaccination rates and recovering consumer confidence. At the same time, however, the presence of the Delta variant and lingering concerns over the future of retail real estate put downward pressure on valuation metrics. Moreover, small shifts in assumptions used in traditional desktop valuation models created massive swings in theoretical value. Rather than engage in what would have been a complicated and unhelpful valuation trial, WPG focused its energies on running a robust marketing process for the reorganised company to examine whether a third-party purchaser would be willing to pay additional value to the company’s existing equity holders. The relative uncertainty surrounding theoretical desktop valuations and the fact that no third-party was willing to provide a higher or better recovery to existing equity holders put sufficient tension on the line to compel parties to reach a negotiated solution that resulted in a fully consensual Chapter 11 plan.
Watson: Any bidder should commission a going concern valuation based on comparable businesses and recent transactions, as well as on a discounted cash flow basis. To reflect known or potential downside risks – in respect of which the seller will likely assume no responsibility and only limited diligence may be possible – and any new money requirement, an appropriate discount should then be applied. It also makes sense to value the business on a liquidation basis to model ‘worst case’ returns. Any competing claims to the target assets, such as retention of title claims or trust arrangements, should be evaluated and key contracts should be reviewed to determine the risk of counterparties walking away. Management, assuming they are ‘on side’, will also have a view on upside opportunities and downside risks, though these should be stress-tested by sector experts. Experienced public relations advisers should be looped in at the outset to guide the sales process and prepare communications plans for ‘Day One’. It is also critical, as always, to have a clear exit strategy.
FW: How should parties manage the competing interests of the various groups associated with a distressed transaction? To ensure a smooth process, is it important to preserve relationships with key stakeholders?
Brenner: In distress situations, the M&A adviser is the key figure that sets the scene. It is the adviser’s role to manage communication with key stakeholders, such as main suppliers and customers, financing parties and workers council, efficiently and with sensitivity. In a distress situation, the adviser has a more active role than in traditional M&A; understanding and managing the key stakeholders’ sensitivities is pivotal. Potential bidders are well advised to seek the M&A adviser’s guidance before speaking to stakeholders.
Yeoh: In a distressed scenario, there are many competing interests between creditors, whether senior, junior, secured or unsecured, insolvency professionals, the company, shareholders and management. It is critical to understand the potential sale value of the business and how this would impact each interested party, as well as the relative strength of the distressed investor’s position. Successful outcomes more often occur when parties with competing interests recognise the strength of each other’s relative positions and act accordingly, rather than considering their interests alone. It is often the case that a better outcome for all parties is achieved when all parties come together to work toward an outcome, rather than engage in an adversarial process.
Husnick: There are many repeat players in distressed M&A, so it is important to maintain credibility and be nice. Aggressive, uncommercial behaviour will be rewarded with aggressive, uncommercial behaviour in this deal and the next 10 deals. Empty threats will be seen as such. Repeat players should know how to address many of the issues that have arisen in past deals. They must remain open-minded, however, as each deal is different and there must be room for creative solutions to novel issues.
Watson: Maintaining positive relationships with all relevant stakeholders is generally valuable in minimising process risk and preserving value. A well-managed and choreographed public relations strategy is essential, especially for any transaction that may attract media or political attention. There may be a variety of key stakeholders with different interests in play, including financial creditors, shareholders, pension creditors, landlords, suppliers, employees and customers. Early dialogue with parties whose support is required is often fundamental to successful implementation; it is best to avoid any surprises. However, reality is never quite as clear cut. Engagement with certain stakeholders must often be weighed against the need to preserve confidentiality to protect the value of the business, and it may be possible to structure round potentially, or ostensibly, hostile parties, keeping them out of the process until execution. Professional advice should be sought and carefully considered if this is the proposed strategy.
Walter: Establish early, open and regularly scheduled communication channels and protocols with stakeholders. It is often prudent to engage the board first, who can then assist with building rapport with different secured lenders – senior or junior – and other key stakeholders such as institutional investors, sponsors and employees. Having clear objectives and being able to convey such objectives to the stakeholders is vital in any distressed transaction. It is also important to stay very close to any relevant regulators.
“Successful outcomes more often occur when parties with competing interests recognise the strength of each other’s relative positions and act accordingly, rather than considering their interests alone.”
FW: For its part, how should a distressed company go about preparing information to maximise the chances of a successful sale? What initial preparations might prove useful?
Walter: The top priority is to have management information systems in top shape. A team of good accountants can assist with this, with particular focus on understanding cash flow issues, and getting timely information across business units and consolidated at group level. Then, the focus should be on getting the company’s corporate structure into good order, including preparation of corporate registers and retrieval of constituent documents. A well-organised and current virtual data room will enable all stakeholders, particularly lenders and also bidders, to have clear, timely access to information. In our experience, a vendor due diligence report can be helpful in enticing bidders to participate in the process.
Husnick: Management of distressed companies need to be able to explain why the company is distressed, how the company is addressing the root cause of the distress and a path to growth. Distressed companies typically need some sort of investment capital to help turn around operations. Investors, whether incumbent creditors or third-party investors, will need to go to the credit committee for any new money commitments. A return to the status quo, such as fixing the cause of the distress, is rarely sufficient to justify a new investment. Instead, the company must be able to demonstrate some likelihood of a reasonable return on investment.
Watson: To maximise value and minimise execution risk, companies should try to allow sufficient time to run a robust process, make reliable, and sufficiently fulsome information available to bidders and seek advice from suitable advisers at an early stage. Time should be invested in ensuring that accurate financial figures for the past 12 months – as well as credible forecast figures – are available, as these will underpin offers. Forecasts should be supported by a considered business plan, which bidders are likely to scrutinise. A careful balance needs to be struck between showcasing upside opportunities and ensuring that the numbers are consistent and realistic. An unduly optimistic case or numerical inconsistencies could lead to a loss of confidence in the process and the management team, and any doubts around the latter should be addressed early. Bidders should engage specialist advisers, as any insolvency officeholder will be looking for speed of execution and will take comfort from bidders being properly advised.
Yeoh: The best preparation happens as early as possible. The company will have more bargaining power and will be able to maximise value if it engages in balance sheet management transactions early on. Companies should regularly review whether assets are core or non-core and whether they have growth in the long-term meeting return requirements. Where there is a process being run for a sale, we recommend that sellers provide as much information as possible – both good and bad – in relation to the asset in order to get bidders up to speed so they can bid with more confidence and present their best offers. This is often done through providing detailed vendor due diligence reports.
Brenner: In light of the speed required for the process, the company should start immediately gathering the essential data for the sales process, set up a data room, identify and designate key persons for the process within the company and start briefings. Apart from these obvious technical points, the company should start scanning its business model for potential risks that have an impact on purchase price, such as change of control, retention of titles, employees who may be transferred automatically or tax risks in carve-out scenarios, prepare the relevant documents around the identified topics and prepare the ground for potential solutions. Unless a turnaround concept already exists, the company and its advisers jointly have to put on their thinking hats and develop a turnaround concept and an equity story.
“Having clear objectives and being able to convey such objectives to the stakeholders is vital in any distressed transaction. It is also important to stay very close to any relevant regulators.”
FW: What are your predictions for the distressed M&A market over the coming months? To what extent do you expect to see an increase in activity?
Husnick: The distressed market is perhaps the slowest it has been in more than 30 years, so it can only get busier. As the effects of economic support programmes wear off and interest rates inevitably rise – the Federal Reserve’s most recent guidance is toward the beginning of 2022 – the debt and equity markets should tighten, thereby causing a natural increase in distressed activity. Accordingly, expect distressed activity to remain at currently depressed levels through at least Q1 2022.
Watson: Governments have rightly been slow to withdraw the support measures that have propped up businesses and the wider populace. However, those measures are starting to roll off – including, in the UK, the moratorium on certain creditor actions to commence insolvency proceedings on the basis of unpaid debts. In parallel, companies across various sectors face other notable headwinds, including a potential rise in interest rates to ward off inflation, supply chain pressures, rising input costs and labour shortages. Buoyant debt markets will do much to mitigate these factors and we do not expect to see a spike in distressed M&A in the short term. However, we believe the gradual turning of the screw will result in increased activity in the medium term in both stressed M&A, where groups in financial difficulty sell non-core assets to release value and focus on strategic priorities, and distressed M&A, where business rescues are achieved, such as through pre-pack administration.
Yeoh: There is currently a lot of interest in the Evergrande situation and how this may impact the broader economy and economic growth, in particular in Greater China markets. It is yet to be seen whether large insolvencies such as Evergrande will have contagion effects. We see that there will be further restructuring and potential default situations involving heavily leveraged groups – this will provide opportunities for investors with strong balance sheets to acquire assets and entire businesses potentially at attractive valuations. It is likely that global interest rates will rise from 2022 onwards, which may leave highly leveraged groups exposed and may lead to further opportunities as these investors look to sell assets to reduce leverage.
Brenner: We are already seeing an increase of activity in the distress market driven by supply chain disruptions, caused, for example, by scarce raw materials and shipping containers, and their prices which have increased accordingly. In certain industries, companies have a limited ability to pass higher prices on to their customers. Furthermore, several industries are faced with demand for high liquidity required to transform their business models, through electrification and digitalisation. We also expect companies that took on additional loans during the crisis, and are now overleveraged, to address this with divestments in order to de-lever and ease the burden of refinancing. To sum up, it is fair to say that we expect activity to increase in the distressed M&A market in the near future.
Walter: We expect to see increased activity as government support tapers and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) becomes more aggressive with recovering unpaid taxes, noting that the support from the ATO over the last 12 months, which is now being unwound, has been very substantial. Trading banks will remain benign, but we see them starting to encourage some borrowers to restructure, and debt held by non-bank funds is being more aggressively used to push restructuring transactions, thereby creating distressed M&A transactions. This will build pressure on the sell-side, which will be met with enthusiasm and capital on the buy-side. On a wider trend, we will see continued activity in the energy sector. Though thermal coal prices may be up, the refinance risk on those assets is very high, which will continue to drive distressed M&A transactions.
David Walter is a partner in Allen & Overy’s Asia Pacific restructuring and recovery group. He has extensive experience advising the spectrum of stakeholders in informal restructures and formal insolvencies, including public companies and their boards, private equity and portfolio companies, special-situations investors, bank lenders, trustees and insolvency practitioners. He focuses on non-contentious and contentious restructuring and insolvency assignments. He can be contacted on +612 9373 7840 or by email: david.walter@allenovery.com.
Chin Yeoh is a partner in the corporate and M&A practice at Ashurst Hong Kong and regularly advises on M&A (including distressed M&A), transactions across the Asian region. He has expertise in negotiating complex cross-border acquisitions which involve multiple interested parties. He has also advised on asset transfers, restructurings, pre-packaged sales, loan to own strategies and on the liquidation and winding up of companies. He can be contacted on +852 2846 8903 or by email: chin.yeoh@ashurst.com.
Dr Petra Brenner is an associate partner in the turnaround and restructuring strategy department of EY-Parthenon. She specialises in financial restructurings, distressed M&A and special situation financings and worked in this area for 20 years as lawyer and investment banker. Before joining EYP she was a partner at Dentons LLP and a managing director at restructuring focused investment bank boutique One Square Advisors. She can be contacted on +49 (151) 5999 1311 or by email: petra.brenner@parthenon.ey.com.
Chad Husnick is a partner in the restructuring group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He represents debtors, creditors, equity holders and other stakeholders in all aspects of corporate liability management, restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. He is also a lecturer in the law at the University of Chicago Law School and a contributing author for Collier on bankruptcy, the leading treatise on bankruptcy law. He can be contacted on +1 (312) 862 2009 or by email: chad.husnick@kirkland.com.
Named a ‘Next Generation Lawyer’ by The Legal 500 UK, James Watson is a partner in Simpson Thacher’s restructuring team. He has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border restructurings and formal insolvency situations. He advises the full spectrum of stakeholders, regularly representing debtors and creditors as well as sponsors, insolvency practitioners and investors in distressed companies and their assets. He can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7275 6419 or by email: james.watson@stblaw.com.
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