149: The $5 Trillion High Yield Debt Markets: Trouble Ahead or Compelling Returns? - With Victor Khosla, Founder & CIO of Strategic Value Partners
Aug 1, 2024
auto_awesome
Victor Khosla, Founder and CIO of Strategic Value Partners, oversees $18 billion in credit investments. In this insightful discussion, he shares his journey from an 'Accidental Investor' to a key player in distressed debt markets. Victor compares the U.S. and European financial landscapes, pinpointing emerging opportunities amid private equity challenges. He recounts his experience with Swissport's restructuring and emphasizes the critical need for operational involvement when managing high-yield debts. Khosla also discusses the stability offered by infrastructure investments in uncertain markets.
Victor Khosla's unique journey as an 'accidental investor' highlights the importance of adaptability in rapidly evolving distressed debt markets.
The podcast emphasizes the increasing integration of operational expertise with financial management as essential for navigating complex restructuring situations in private equity.
Deep dives
The Journey of an Accidental Investor
Victor Kozler describes his unexpected transition into the investment world, highlighting his unique path as an 'accidental investor.' After completing business school and working in strategy consulting, he joined Citibank, where he was tasked with writing a business plan for distressed debt trading. This plan led to him becoming actively involved in buying and selling debt at a time when the market was just beginning to formalize. His experience at Citibank during the burgeoning days of distressed debt trading illustrates the volatility and challenge of establishing new trading norms, emphasizing the importance of adapting to rapidly changing rules in emerging markets.
The Evolution of Private Debt
The podcast discusses the significant growth and transformation of the private debt market, particularly in the wake of the leveraged buyout boom in the 1990s. As companies faced financial difficulties, particularly after over-leveraging, a specialized industry emerged to manage distressed debt and facilitate restructuring. Victor explains how the need for operational expertise in addition to financial skills became critical in navigating these complex situations. This shift towards integrating operational capabilities with financial management marks a key development in the growing private equity sector and the overall credit market.
Current Trends and Future Opportunities
Victor shares insights into the current climate for debt investors, emphasizing the challenges posed by maturing debts amidst a backdrop of higher interest rates. He anticipates a surge of restructuring activities over the next few years as historical portfolios face pressure, particularly those formed during a zero-interest-rate environment. While he sees initial signs of stress in high-yield indices, he remains optimistic about the landscape and the potential for attractive investment opportunities. This optimism, combined with a deep understanding of the inefficiencies in Europe and emerging scenarios, positions Victor’s firm to seize on the impending opportunities in the restructuring space.
This episode comes from the SuperReturn conference in Berlin, with guest Victor Khosla, Founder of SVP. Set up in 2001, the firm manages $18 billion in credit, with an impressive long-term track record in identifying credit opportunities.
Victor describes himself as the ‘Accidental Investor’, initiallyhired as a strategic consultant for a Citibank project in the 1990s, only then to join them to help develop their credit business.
He recaps his journey from India through Citi, Cerberus, and Moore Capital, before founding his business with the assisted funding from Moore Capital, to identify and buy out-of-favour debt instruments whether distressed or mispriced.
Victor describes today’s markets, the differences between the US and Europe, opportunities that are emerging from private equity indigestion and reduced exits, allied to significant refinancing needs.
As the owner of Swissport, the world’s largest baggage handler, he recounts their post-COVID purchase and the debt/equity swap, and where ownership of the debt in this - and many other instances - means a further need for involvement on the business operations side.