- Companies from Neiman Marcus to Hertz have filed for Chapter 11 in recent months, creating a surge of work for restructuring bankers.
- The investment bankers advising struggling companies have been slammed with business, and some execs expect restructuring revenues will easily double this year.
- Many of the boutique banks that specialize in restructuring also rely heavily on M&A revenues, meaning it's essential to capture their share of the growing restructuring fee pool.
- In April, Business Insider compiled a list of top bankers tasked with navigating corporate defaults, restructurings, and bankruptcies.
- Click here for more BI Prime stories.
From Neiman Marcus to Hertz, the US has seen a wave of Chapter 11 filings in recent months.
As the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc across the country, shutting down industries and confining consumers to their homes, companies scrambled for cash to cope with the loss of business.
Corporations drew down hundreds of billions in revolving credit lines in March and April. And while massive government stimulus packages helped slow the bleeding for some — and stock markets have rebounded since the height of the pandemic — the economic reality for many companies remains uncertain.
The investment bankers who thrive during crises and recessions are in turn taking center stage. When companies find their balance sheets in disarray, restructuring bankers are hired to clean up the mess and clear a path toward viable operations.
The investment bankers advising struggling companies have been slammed with business, and some execs have said they expect restructuring revenues will easily double this year. These bankers are already grabbing high-profile restructuring mandates: Hertz and Whiting Petroleum are being advised by Moelis bankers, while Lazard is working on JC Penney and J Crew.
Many of the boutique banks that specialize in restructuring also rely heavily on M&A revenues, meaning it's essential to capture their share of the growing restructuring fee pool as deal volume plunges. As Business Insider has reported, top restructuring firms have been shaking up their operations to capitalize on the opportunity.
In April, Business Insider compiled a list of the top restructuring investment bankers in the US. In putting together this group, we scoured industry league tables and spoke with bankers and executive recruiters that know the industry best.
Bulge-bracket banks, which help advise on raising and issuing debt and thus don't typically provide companies with restructuring advice, weren't considered, nor were turnaround consulting firms that specialize in retooling operations at distressed firms.
All of the bankers on this list have decades of experience to their name, meaning they've soldiered through multiple recessions. Some helped navigate some of the biggest and messiest bankruptcies and restructurings of the financial collapse in 2008 — Lehman Brothers, AIG, General Motors, and Chrysler.
In short, there's very little they haven't seen. But the crisis that has unfolded in 2020 is new to everyone — even the most veteran execs on Wall Street.
The coronavirus had accelerated work on energy companies and retailers that were already seeing weakness, restructuring attorneys told Business Insider. But the current situation, where healthy businesses have seen their cash flow evaporate overnight and a return to normalcy can't be predicted even as the county reopens, is a new frontier.
Here is Business Insider's list of the top US restructuring bankers, who will help manage the corporate defaults, restructurings, and bankruptcies of the coronavirus crisis.
Note: This list was originally published in April 2020. The list is sorted alphabetically by company name.
Read more:
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony4rculZKysopqytb%2BMraapZaKawLW%2B1JyrrqqZo7RursCnop6qo2LEqbHNZqmem5WowKq7zaxknZ2WlsKtwNJmn6KsXWd9c3yMbA%3D%3D