April 2014 Issue

A thorough, proactive and preferably consensual approach is best when dealing with non-performing loan work-outs, write Brandur Thor Ludwig and Ari Danielsson of Reviva Capital.

When Spanish regulators approved proposals to reform the country’s restructuring regime last month, it heralded a sea change in the way ailing companies would be treated, and had major implications for distressed debt investors.

The increasing supply of opportunities means today’s distressed market is a favourable one for nimble investors, write Stuart Mathieson and Neil Godfrey.

Since his arrival from Morgan Stanley in 2010, The Carlyle Group’s Mitch Petrick has been trying to build a credit platform that is different from its competitors’. Sam Sutton sits down with the managing director and head of Carlyle GMS.

Banks’ reluctance to crystallise losses and highly liquid credit markets has made life tough for distressed debt investors. But the brave among them have plunged into riskier situations and markets and used their expertise to deliver impressive returns.

In a piece published in the Wall Street Journal last month, Blackstone president Tony James sought to differentiate ‘market-based lenders’ - private debt funds to you and me - from banks. But will his bid to stave off regulatory scrutiny be successful?

Already an established, mainstream source of financing in the US, asset-based lending is increasingly prevalent in Europe, particularly in the UK.

US trade body the Small Business Investor Alliance mistakenly attributed three donations to its political action committee as being from SBIC and mezzanine investment funds.

An intriguing bifurcation in fortunes appears to be occurring in Indonesia, creating both opportunities and challenges for the international private debt investor, our Asian correspondent writes.

Presented with an array of options, private equity firm The Riverside Company picked a unitranche package provided by ICG for its buyout of Italian ice cream company Mec3, in a sign that private debt funds are offering an increasingly compelling alternative to bank financing, writes Anna Devine.

Kelli Roiter, managing director and head of Jefferies Strategic Capital Opportunities, speaks with Sam Sutton about market shifts special situations, distressed and private debt over the last five years.

Real estate debt funds can deliver returns on a par with core real estate equity investing with less risk, particularly if they seek out opportunities outside primary locations, according to a Partners Group report, writes Oliver Smiddy.