At The Deal's M&A Outlook 2009 conference on Wednesday, middle-market editor and moderator Nathaniel Baker asked panelists where the buying opportunities were in the distressed field.
Hamilton Crawford, a managing director at Houlihan Lokey, quickly gave a jovial reply. "For record, I spend all my time on the healthy side. We actively went out to sponsors and made playbooks about how to handle this highly troubled credit crunch environment. Sponsors have to move faster now, especially with their lenders." One strategy he sees is that they are investing in minority stakes all the way up to 49%, thereby not triggering certain clauses in their contracts with banks.
Lincolnshire Management Inc. managing director Tom Callahan said, "We've always been a value player. We sold eight portfolio companies in the last 24 months to take advantage of leverage." On the origination side, he predicted, "we think the market is coming on our side." -
Baz HiralalSee all M&A Outlook 2009 posts
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