The number of distressed M&A transactions doubled between 2007 and 2008 and will continue to increase, says Frank Aquila, a partner in the M&A group at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. In this edition of Inside The Deal, Aquila says there is a "staggering amount" of high-yield debt coming due in 2010 to 2015, and for corporations that can't refinance, a sale of assets or the company may be the only option to avoid bankruptcy.
The buying pool will include corporates, who as we noted in the recent feature, Distressed Deals: Here come the strategics, are pursuing distressed assets in greater numbers. Aquila says the learning curve will be steep, but he expects the opportunities will be too great for many strategics to remain on the sidelines. See the video below or download it at iTunes. - Suzanne Stevens
For comments or suggestions about Deal Video, please contact
mwoehr@thedeal.com. Use the following embed code to run this video on
your Web site: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="370" id="viddler"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/11e38135/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/11e38135/" width="437" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler" ></embed></object>
