The Cramdown

From remote hearings to changes in bankruptcy laws, companies that went through restructuring during the COVID-19 pandemic have had some challenges. In episode nine of The Cramdown, host Daniel Shamah talks with Dan Hugo, senior managing director with FTI Consulting, about how the restructuring practice has changed since the start of the pandemic and some valuable lessons professionals have learned and adapted to along the way.

Guest Information:
Dan Hugo
Senior Managing Director
FTI Consulting

Video: Episode 8: Introducing O’Melveny’s Dallas-Based Bankruptcy & Restructuring Partners 

Restructuring can be complex even for the most experienced professionals. In recent years, many lenders who are not traditional “distressed investors” found themselves in restructuring processes and received a crash course in bankruptcy and reorganization. In episode seven of the Cramdown podcast, host Daniel Shamah talks with Reema Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Director at Franklin Templeton’s Floating Rate Group, about the key lessons learned from some recent restructurings, from the perspective of a non-distressed investment professional.

In recent years, numerous companies have filed for and emerged from chapter 11 in less than 24 hours, seemingly setting a new record for “shortest ever bankruptcy” each time. Daniel Shamah and Joe Zujkowski discuss what led to this trend, the ideal conditions for a 24-hour chapter 11, and whether the trend will continue in the future.

Together, the COVID crisis and a new Congress sparked fresh discussion around amending the Bankruptcy Code. In episode 5 of The Cramdown, O’Melveny Restructuring partners Daniel Shamah and Maria DiConza discuss potential changes to the Code, and the effects in three principal areas—treatment of employees and consumers, treatment of insiders, and treatment of private equity.

A growing number of non-pro rata and priming transactions in the financial markets are pitting corporate lenders against each other. In episode 4 of The Cramdown, O’Melveny partners Daniel Shamah and Jennifer Taylor join hosts Nancy Mitchell and John Rapisardi to discuss the practice of priming, its permissibility under existing law, and potential actions lenders can take to try and attack these transactions.

Brazil’s recently reformed bankruptcy law embraces more modern principles of corporate restructurings. Antonio Affonso Mac Dowell Leite de Castro and Marcos Leite de Castro of the leading Brazilian law firm Mac Dowell, Melo & Leite de Castro Advogados join O’Melveny partners John Rapisardi and Joe Zujkowski to discuss this recent shift. Antonio and Marcos offer insights on how Brazilian bankruptcy law compares to US law, why it should be important to investors outside Brazil, and how it will play a part in the recovery of Brazil’s economy in the wake of the global pandemic.

O’Melveny partners Maria DiConza and Denise Raytis join host Nancy Mitchell to assess how colleges and universities are responding to a range of financial pressures caused by COVID-19. Maria and Denise offer insights from a restructuring and project development perspective, respectively, in forecasting the pandemic’s long-term impact on higher education and what institutions can do to ensure their financial stability and future.

O’Melveny partners Michael Hamilton and Steve Warren discuss landlord-tenant issues in light of the global pandemic, their impact on lease agreements, and how bankruptcy decisions could affect negotiations.