In this episode, we speak with Simmons and Simmons’ Christopher Kranz and Simon Kirschner, about the German StaRUG procedure, with a focus on the innovative Softline restructuring.The German Act on the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework for Businesses (StaRUG) came into force on 1 January 2021, implementing the EU Restructuring Directive – which obliges all EU member states to establish preventive restructuring frameworks – into German law.Last year, the StaRUG procedure experienced a number of “firsts”, with high profile cases including Leoni and Gerry Weber. One particularly innovative case was that of listed IT company Softline. Our speakers acted for the majority shareholder Noventiq, which took over the entire equity under the StaRUG.#restructuring #germany #preventiverestructuringframeworks #staRUG #softline #insolvency #eurestructuringdirective #distresseddebt #germanlaw

Dominik Spanier, MD at Lincoln International, joins Debtwire’s Johannes Koch to look at the year ahead for private debt in the German-speaking region and scour the market for challenges and opportunities for debt advisors.#privatedebt #Europe #Germany #LincolnInternational #debtadvisor

Florian Kluge, MD and COO Investor Relations at Ardian, joins Debtwire’s Johannes Koch to talk about how the fundraising market is developing and explore whether private debt has reached its peak.Florian Kluge joined Ardian in 2017. As managing director he is engaged in the firm’s fundraising efforts and closely involved in the firm’s relationships with investors in Germany, Austria and the UK.Florian takes us through which asset classes are getting tougher to raise money for and highlights LPs current pain points and return expectations.Finally we hone in on the private debt class and explore whether fundraising for the asset class has reached its peak.

Lee Buchheit, Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Law School, talks about the use of value recovery instruments to resolve sovereign debt workouts with Debtwire's Laura Gardner.Lee takes us back to the origins of these tools, which were first used as part of the 1990s Brady-era debt restructurings.While in principle used to sweeten the deal for bondholders agreeing to significant upfront debt relief, Lee argues that they face a number of difficulties, both from the debtor and creditor perspective.Lee then looks at recent cases in Suriname, Zambia, and Sri Lanka to see how they have incorporated new elements into their value recovery instruments.#sovereigndebt #zambia #suriname #srilanka #ghana #restructuring

On the Debtwired! Podcast, Goldman Sachs Head of EMEA Leveraged Finance Dominic Ashcroft joins Debtwire Europe’s Head of High Yield Adam Samoon to discuss the outlook for the European LevFin market.LevFin volumes have staged a comeback this year though issuance still remains below recent historical levels. This podcast explores the future for leveraged finance issuance and whether the year-to-date rebound in volumes can be sustained.European Leveraged Finance is now a diversified asset class with high yield bonds, leveraged loans and private credit all offering alternative sources of funding for issuers. Private credit deals have increased strongly in recent years but there are also still some green shoots in syndicated markets.The recent backdrop for primary markets is tough with concerns over high interest rates and geo-political headline risks. But companies can adapt issuance tactics in response to the challenging macroeconomic environment.

Lazard Managing Director Pierre Cailleteau joins Debtwire's Laura Gardner on the podcast to discuss domestic debt restructuring as part of sovereign debt negotiations.Pierre explains the difficulties a government is presented with when it chooses to restructure its domestic debt, the risks it can bring to its economy and why these exercises must be carefully calibrated.He also goes through three case studies where governments have chosen different paths - Ghana, Sri Lanka and Zambia - and explains their decision-making with regards to domestic debt restructuring.Pierre discusses the issue of comparability of treatment among different creditor classes and the importance of assessing a creditor group's capacity to absorb losses.Finally, Pierre talks about the risk of holdouts in a domestic debt restructuring and how these can be tackled.#sovereign #debt #restructuring #ghana #zambia #srilanka

Sam Whittaker and Tom Howard from Lazard discuss topics on debt restructuring and distressed debt in Europe, including the evolving role of financial advisors, the impact of documentation on restructuring negotiations, and the influence of private credit on the fixed income landscape. They also explore trends in distressed debt and restructuring, the dominance of private credit in the middle market, challenges in the retail space, and the need for broad toolkit and capital solutions.

Debtwire's Dan Anghelache speaks to Charlie Robertson, Head of Macro Strategy at FIM Partners, about the recent pressure on African sovereigns, especially in light of the slew of recent military coups in the region.Charlie considers the impact of elevated fertility rates in the region on sovereign default risk and whether this risk has been priced in by credit and equity markets. In particular, he examines whether there is a negative sentiment weighing on Eurobond-issuing West African sovereigns due to recent events.#EM #sovereign #debt #distressed

Debtwire's Alex Dooler sits down with Ahmad Alanani, co-founder and CEO of Sancta Capital, to discuss the rise of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Middle East.Following a landmark USD 1.1bn NPL transaction from ADCB earlier in the year, investors have been paying close attention to the emerging asset class. Despite the headlines, the market for NPLs still has some way to go and is bound by a host of factors that are discussed in this episode.#NPLs #emergingmarkets #distresseddebt

Debtwire’s Laura Gardner speaks with Richard Cooper and Jim Ho, partners at Cleary Gottlieb, about new legislation being considered by the state of New York, and what it means for sovereign debt restructurings.Richard explains that the changes are made up of three separate bills, which seek to create a comprehensive mechanism to restructure sovereign debt, expand the champerty defense and limit creditor recoveries. He highlights how some of these proposals lack clarity, could lead to jurisdiction migration and risk making borrowing more expensive for sovereigns.Jim explains how the UK has sought to deal with the issues from an English law perspective, where similar proposals have so far been rejected by the government.They both agree that more should be done to incentivise official and private sector to invest to try and solve sovereign debt challenges.#sovereign #debt #restructuring