9:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Complex Financial Restructuring Program at VALCON 2019

For the first time in 10 years, ABI’s Complex Financial Restructuring Program is back in Las Vegas!
This program offers a unique approach to understanding the role of investment bankers and financial advisors in insolvency and restructuring. A case study will be presented as faculty members play the role of major constituents and dramatize the various perspectives of parties-in-interest.  If you advise clients on restructuring issues, then join us early for this one-of-a-kind program. 
You can register for both programs via the VALCON Register Now button.

2:00 p.m.

Registration Opens

3:30-3:40 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks

3:40-4:00 p.m.

Case Study Prep Session

4:00-5:30 p.m. (1.50 hrs.)

Case Study in Conjunction with the 2019 Complex Financial Restructuring Program: Valuing and Restructuring Distressed Companies in the Face of Financial and Operational Headwinds

This panel will use a case-study approach and mock negotiations to work through restructuring options for a company experiencing significant financial and operational headwinds. The case focuses on issues related to strategy, valuation and the legal rights and remedies of the company, the company’s lenders and creditors.

 

Michael Friedman, Moderator

Chapman and Cutler LLP; New York

Larry G. Halperin

Chapman and Cutler LLP; New York

Prof. C. Randel Lewis

University of Denver Daniels College of Business; Denver

Prof. David C. Smith

University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce; Charlottesville, Va.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Opening Networking Reception with the Participants of the 2019 Complex Financial Restructuring Program

Join us for drinks and hors d’oeuvres with faculty and participants.

8:00-8:45 a.m.

Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.

All Day Coffee

Sponsored by Fox Rothschild LLP.

8:45-9:00 a.m.

Welcoming Remarks

9:00-10:00 a.m. (1.00 hr.)

Hot Topics in Valuation & Creditworthiness Analyses

This session will discuss the latest developments and court experiences on quantitative financial distress/bankruptcy-prediction models, rating-agency determinations of expected recovery, and the valuation of liens. It will also explain why certain issues such as market efficiency, so far confined to the Delaware Chancery Court, are likely to soon migrate to the arena of bankruptcy litigation.

 

Prof. Israel Shaked, Moderator

Boston University/The Michel-Shaked Group; Boston

Dr. William Chambers

Fathom Analytics; Charlottesville, Va.

Dr. Faten Sabry

NERA Economic Consulting; New York

Bradford J. Sandler

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Wilmington, Del.

10:00-11:00 a.m. (1.00 hr.)

VALCON Talks

Based on the incredibly popular “TED Talks” format, VALCON Talks will feature seasoned experts providing their views on several valuation topics.

 

Jack Butler, Moderator

Birch Lake Holdings, LP; Chicago

What’s Wrong with Chapter 11?

Why doesn’t chapter 11 work the way Congress intended it to when they created it in 1978 and as amended? Why do businesses avoid it until it’s too late, and why do most cases end up being a 363 sale rather than a reorganization?

 

Prof. Charles J. Tabb

University of Illinois College of Law; Champaign, Ill

Do Private Equity and Hedge Funds Save or Kill Distressed Businesses?

Even as public markets rose worldwide over the last several years — the S&P 500 shot up by more than 20 percent, as did other major indices—investors continued to show interest and confidence in private markets. Private asset managers raised a record sum of nearly $750 billion globally in 2017, extending a cycle that began eight years ago. Fully 90 percent of fund investors said recently that private equity, the largest private asset class, will continue to outperform public markets and provide substantial (and critical) financing and liquidity to distressed businesses. Yet bankruptcy collapses like Toys R Us demonstrate that liquidation is often the best option for the controlling investors -- which may then be the public debt bondholders rather than the private equity funds who have already extracted value through fees, dividend recaps and other devices leaving what was an imperfect but functioning company on life support to be liquidated. What’s the verdict on PE and Hedge Fund investment in distressed M&A transactions: a life line or a death warrant?

 

Elizabeth I. Holland

Abbell Associates; Chicago

Pilar Tarry

AlixPartners LLC; Southfield, Mich

11:00-11:15 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by Development Specialists, Inc.

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (1.00 hr.)

Lessons Learned from Contested Solvency and Valuation Trials

The panel will address a host of recurring issues, including (1) valuing non-cash-flowing and underperforming assets, (2) best practices to determine comparability, (3) best practices for the weighting of multiple methodologies, and (4) best practices for challenging/supporting projections. The panel will focus on recent bankruptcy cases and present views from financial, legal, investor and judicial perspectives.

 

Rachel Jaffe Mauceri, Moderator

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; Philadelphia

Hon. Kevin J. Carey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.); Wilmington

Adam B. Keil

Moelis & Company; New York

Mark P. Kronfeld

BlackRock |Tennenbaum Capital Partners; New York

12:15-12:45 p.m.

Luncheon

Sponsored by KCC

12:45-1:45 p.m. (1.00 hr.)

Luncheon Keynote Presentation

Sponsored by KCC

 

The Keynote Luncheon presentation will feature a bipartisan discussion by former Senator Byron Dorgan and former Congressman Phil English on the 2018 elections and what they mean for business and investing.

 

Jon S. Bouker, Moderator

Arent Fox LLP; Washington, D.C.

Byron Dorgan, former U.S. Senator (D- N.D.)

Arent Fox LLP; Washington, D.C.

Philip S. English, former U.S. Congressman (R-P.A.)

Arent Fox LLP; Washington, D.C.

1:45-2:00 p.m.

Refreshment Break

2:00-3:00 p.m. (1.00 hr.)

The Impact of the Tax Reform Bill on Valuations

 

Luchanna Hall, Moderator

BDO USA, LLP; Los Angeles

John Chase

Dorsey & Whitney LLP; Palo Alto, Calif

Richard Law

Alvarez & Marsal; New York

Lisa Meekins

KPMG LLP; Chicago

John Narducci

Orrick; New York

3:00-3:15 p.m.

Refreshment Break

Sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

3:15-4:15 p.m. (1.00 hr.)

Estimating the Value of Causes of Action for Purposes of Plan Releases in Chapter 11 Plan-Support Agreements

This panel will discuss valuing releases granted to third parties in both the chapter 11 plan context and in the context of restructuring support agreements. Our discussion will look at both the legal standard necessary to obtain approval of the releases, the means and methods by which restructuring professionals can and should value those releases, and best practices for determining whether or not the value of the releases supports the causes of action that will be waived.

 

Jeffrey N. Rothleder, Moderator

Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP

Beth Brownstein

Arent Fox LLP; New York

Leah M. Eisenberg

Foley & Lardner LLP; New York

David MacGreevey, CIRA

AlixPartners; New York

Michael Vitti

Duff & Phelps, LLC; Morristown, NJ

4:15-5:15 p.m. (1.00 hr.)

Valuing Debtors Still in Development: The Pre-Earnings Conundrum

Not all new ventures finance their development with equity capital; some companies access debt capital even before achieving earnings stability. A stumble on the road to profitability can lead to distress, insolvency and bankruptcy, as was observed in cases like SunEdison and LightSquared, as well as in several recent biotech and E&P-related bankruptcies. Once distress sets in, traditional valuation methodologies can become challenging to implement, especially for litigation purposes. This panel will consider how parties and, in turn, bankruptcy courts should consider valuation issues respecting debtors that falter while still in the developmental stage.

 

Robert J. Stark, Moderator

Brown Rudnick LLP; New York

Adam Dunayer

Houlihan Lokey; Dallas

Steven J. Fleming, CIRA, CDBV

PwC; New York

Ross Waetzman

Gavin/Solmonese LLC; Wilmington

Allen D. Wilen

EisnerAmper LLP; Iselin, NJ

5:15-6:45 p.m.

Networking Reception

Join us for drinks and hors d’oeuvres with faculty and participants.

8:00-8:30 a.m.

Networking Breakfast

8:25-8:30 a.m.

Welcoming Remarks

8:30-9:30 a.m. (1.00 hr.)

Judicial Panel

Join us for a discussion on hot topics and recent developments on valuation issues in bankruptcy.

 

Patricia B. Tomasco, Moderator

Jackson Walker; Houston

Hon. Kevin J. Carey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.); Wilmington

Hon. David R. Jones

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Tex.); Houston

Hon. Mary F. Walrath

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.); Wilmington

9:30-9:45 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP and WilmerHale

9:45-10:45 am (1.00 hr.)

Preparing for Direct and Cross-Examination Testimony as a Valuation Expert

During this session, this distinguished panel will examine the art of preparing to put on contested valuation testimony (direct and cross). The panelists have approximately a combined century of experience and will engage in a lively back-and-forth on recurring issues and themes that arise in the valuation of enterprises and assets.

 

Van C. Durrer II, Moderator

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Los Angeles

Derek C. Pitts

PJ Solomon; New York

Ian Ratner

GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC; Atlanta

Hon. Mary F. Walrath

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.); Wilmington

10:45-11:45 a.m. (1.00 hr.)

Duties of PE-Controlled Board Members, Their Counsel, and Valuation Advisors

This session will explore the unique fiduciary-duty and ethical issues confronted by board members of distressed companies that are owned and controlled by private-equity sponsors, including the impact of multitranche and unitranche financing structures, contractual-duty limitations and exculpations, and the issues confronted by valuation advisors in these situations.

 

Kenneth J. Malek, CIRA, CDBV, Moderator

MalekRemian LLC; Libertyville, Ill.

Thomas J. Allison

Portage Point Partners; Chicago

Hon. Bruce A. Markell (ret.)

Northwestern University; Chicago

Peter S. Partee Sr.

Hunton Andrews Kurth; New York

Adam Pilchman

PJT Partners; New York

11:45 a.m.

Adjourn