ABI, the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) and our distinguished advisory board invite you to VALCON 2022 at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Designed specifically for valuation professionals, VALCON 2022 is THE place to connect with leaders in the distressed-debt, restructuring and valuation industry. If you are a dealmaker, fund investor, or financial or legal advisor, you’ll want to join us!
Plus this year: ABI’s Complex Financial Restructuring Program is being held in conjunction with VALCON 2022! Attend either program, or both programs for a reduced registration fee.
Earn up to 13.2/13 hours of CLE/CPE credit, including 1.2/1 hours of ethics!
VALCON 2022 Registration Opens
VALCON 2022 Welcoming Remarks
VALCON 2022 Case Study Cram Session
Case Study in Conjunction with the 2022 Complex Financial Restructuring Program: Hexative
This panel will use a case-study approach and mock negotiations to work through restructuring options for a brand-new case study. The case focuses on issues related to the valuation, makewhole, shared-services agreement and governance issues of the company and its creditors.
Opening Networking Reception with the Participants of the 2022 Complex Financial Restructuring Program
Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with faculty and participants.
Registration and Networking Breakfast
Sponsored by Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones
All Day Coffee
Sponsored by Cozen O'Connor
Welcome Remarks
The Pandemic Era: Did Corporate Valuation Change?
This case-study-based discussion will focus on valuation for companies significantly impacted by COVID-19. The panelists will discuss recent cases where the market and business uncertainty caused by the pandemic led to unpredictable or unexpected valuation outcomes. Further consideration will be given as to how these outcomes might (or might not) be relevant going forward.
Coffee Break
Sponsored by Skadden
Hot Topics in Valuation
This panel will examine current developments that may affect asset, enterprise and plan valuations. The panelists will discuss evolving market factors, the latest legal developments, and changing trends in valuation methodology.
Coffee Break
The Impact of Easy Money on Valuations During the Pandemic
Unprecedented levels of government stimulus, record levels of IPOs and an explosion of the SPAC market provided an abundance of liquidity to an already-buoyant market. These factors, combined with historically low interest rates, have fueled record levels of M&A and refinancing activity. This panel will examine the effects that this "easy money" has had on valuations throughout the pandemic, and compare these effects to companies' valuation outlooks for the remainder of calendar year 2022 and beyond.
Luncheon
Geopolitical Dynamics with China: Navigating Competition, Economic Headwinds and Trade Issues
The Keynote Luncheon presentation will feature a discussion by Damian Felton from The Cohen Group, who previously served as a senior International Trade Administration official with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for over seven years. Damian will speak to a host of geopolitical issues impacting valuation, including the commercial implications of U.S. strategic competition with China; China’s growing economic headwinds caused by growth imbalances, excessive state intervention and aging demographics; Chinese/Russian relationships; and combative international trade policies towards China that are complicating global supply chains.
Keynote Sponsored by Deloitte
The Difficulties of Value Allocation Within a Complex, Insolvent Conglomerate
Negotiation and litigation regarding the allocation of value become more challenging when the debtor is part of an insolvent conglomerate. Parties must consider the allocation of value among subsidiaries and the presence of intercompany claims, guaranties and other complexities. This panel will discuss lessons learned and best practices for negotiating and litigating value allocation, focusing on recent bankruptcy cases and viewpoints from financial, legal and judicial perspectives.
Refreshment Break
Making Sense of a Distress-less Investing Market: Sustainable, Cyclical or Illusionary?
Refreshment Break
Valuation Issues in Airline and Aircraft Restructurings
The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent political and economic events, have highlighted a number of complicated and hotly debated issues regarding the valuation of airlines in the context of restructurings. This panel will discuss, among other things, how macroeconomic issues are impacting business plans and valuations, the way valuation issues play out in large airline restructurings, and investors’ views on the role that valuation plays in investment decisions and negotiations of restructuring transactions.
Networking Reception
Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with faculty and participants.
Sponsored by Hogan Lovells US LLP and PwC
A Breakfast Conversation with the Judges on Today’s Hot Topics
Moderated by Abid Qureshi, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; New York
Sponsored by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Reorganization Value, § 363 Value, and the Games People Play
Today’s chapter 11 cases tend to include upfront announcements of the debtor’s preferred exit strategy. We often see the debtor’s first-day announcement of a pre-negotiated plan structure or an already “half-baked” sale process, as well as DIP loan covenants, driving the announced strategy to a quick and assured conclusion. But what if that plan or sale process is not designed (perhaps intentionally so) to accurately reflect the business’s true inherent worth? This panel will explore how a debtor’s ultimate valuation can be determined more by the bankruptcy process than by the underlying business data.
Coffee Break
Mitigating Fraudulent Transfer Risk
This panel will examine the fraudulent transfer (and other) risks associated with a leveraged transaction, including LBOs and dividend recap transactions, and the steps that may be taken to mitigate those risks. The panelists will approach each topic with a 360-degree view, exploring the issues from the perspectives of board members, debt capital providers and equity sponsors/shareholders.
Know When to Hold ‘em, Know When to Fold ‘em: Lessons from the Caesars Bankruptcy
This panel will provide a lively discussion of valuation, liability management transactions, corporate governance, ethics and the bankruptcy process set against the backdrop of the Casears restructuring and chapter 11 case. The panelists, all of whom were intimately involved in the Caesars bankruptcy as principal, advisor or journalist, will offer their unique insights into this fascinating chapter 11 case and the lessons (legal, practical and ethical) it teaches for restructurings today.
Adjourn
| Early (by 4/20/22) | Regular (4/21/22-5/4/22) | Late (after 5/4/22) | ||
| VALCON 2022 Registration Rates | ||||
| ABI/AIRA Member | $765 | $815 | $865 | |
| Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member | $375 | $425 | $475 | |
| New ABI/AIRA Member* | $1,165 | $1,215 | $1,265 | |
| New Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member* | $490 | $540 | $590 | |
| *Includes a one-year ABI and AIRA membership for first-time members only — a $750 value! You must be an ABI or AIRA member to attend. Membership is individual and nonrefundable. If your ABI membership has expired, select the member rate and add in your ABI membership renewal fee. | ||||
| Early (by 4/20/22) | Regular (4/21/22-5/4/22) | Late (after 5/4/22) | ||
| VALCON 2022 & CFRP 2022 Joint Registration Rates | ||||
| ABI/AIRA Member | $1,025 | $1,175 | $1,275 | |
| Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member | $600 | $750 | $800 | |
| New ABI/AIRA Member* | $1,425 | $1,575 | $1,625 | |
| New Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member* | $715 | $865 | $915 | |
| *Includes a one-year ABI and AIRA membership for first-time members only — a $750 value! You must be an ABI or AIRA member to attend. Membership is individual and nonrefundable. If your ABI membership has expired, select the member rate and add in your ABI membership renewal fee. | ||||
| Early (by 4/20/22) | Regular (4/21/22-5/4/22) | Late (after 5/4/22) | ||
| CFRP 2022 Registration Rates | ||||
| ABI/AIRA Member | $575 | $625 | $675 | |
| Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member | $375 | $425 | $475 | |
| New ABI/AIRA Member* | $975 | $1,025 | $1,075 | |
| New Gov't./Aca./Nonprofit ABI/AIRA Member* | $490 | $540 | $590 | |
| *Includes a one-year ABI membership for first-time members only — a $425 value! You must be an ABI member to attend. Membership is individual and nonrefundable. If your ABI membership has expired, select the member rate and add in your ABI membership renewal fee. | ||||
Cancellation Policy
All fees, except a $75 handling fee, will be refunded if written notice of cancellation is received by April 20, 2022. No refunds will be granted after April 20, but substitutions will be allowed. After April 20, upon written request, a coupon for 20% off the registration fee (not including optional events) will be issued, which can be used (by the cancelling registrant only) for any ABI educational program up to one year after this conference, or for this same conference next year.
Anti-Harassment Policy
The American Bankruptcy Institute is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers. Our anti-harassment policy can be found at https://www.abi.org/about-us/bylaws-and-policies.
ABI’s COVID-19 Policy
As the COVID-19 landscape continues to evolve, so too must ABI’s safety policies for in-person events. ABI’s priority for all conferences and events is the safety and welfare of our attendees, partners and team. For the ABI Events, we are requiring that in-person attendees show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than two days (48 hours) prior to arrival. In lieu of testing, attendees can upload their vaccination card to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (as defined by the CDC) in order to gain admittance to the program. This decision was made in consultation with ABI leadership and is based on guidance issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health authorities. It is also consistent with the policies of many of our member firms and other associations nationwide.
The Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas is a sanctuary from the bright lights of the dazzling Las Vegas Strip, all located on the 35th to 39th floors of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino tower — ensuring a more intimate atmosphere and attentive personal service. ABI and AIRA have arranged a special conference rate of $259 per night from May 11-13, 2022. Reservations must be made directly with the hotel prior to April 19, 2022, to take advantage of the special conference rate. In order to be eligible for the group rate, reservations may be made only once you have registered with ABI. Upon payment of the conference registration fees, you will receive hotel reservation information with your conference confirmation. Rooms are held on a first-come, first-served basis. ABI cannot guarantee any rooms after the specially rated ABI/AIRA block is filled.
Travel
Air: Fly into McCarran International Airport (LAS).
Conference Attire
Attire is business casual throughout the conference.
Co-Chairs
Advisory Board
Continuing Education*
This program is eligible for 11.5 hours of general CLE credit, including 1 hour of ethics/professionalism, in states calculating CLE on a 60-minute hour, and 13.8 hours of general CLE credit, including 1.2 hours of ethics/professionalism, in 50-minute-hour states. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit-rounding rules and might not be approved prior to the program. California MCLE: ABI certifies that this activity has been approved for MCLE credit in the amount of 11.5 hours, of which 1 hour will apply to ethics. NY MCLE: This course or program has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board for a maximum of 13.8 credit hours, of which 12 credit hours can be applied toward the professional practice requirement and 1 credit hour can be applied toward the ethics professionalism requirement.
13 hours of CPE credit, including 1 hour of ethics, are also available.
*CPE Certificates of Attendance will be distributed by AIRA upon completion of the course. Participants can earn up to 13 hours of CPE.
**ABI and AIRA offer intermediate-level courses, which assume that attendees will have at least some detailed knowledge of insolvency matters (pursuant to the “Statement on Standards for CPE Programs” established by AICPA and NASBA). ABI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State Boards of Accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website, www.nasbaregistry.org.
Financial Hardship Statement
ABI acknowledges that in some instances there will be persons who need to attend an educational seminar for CLE credit who are not able to pay full registration fees. ABI will handle such instances on a case-by-case basis and will work with the individual on alternative solutions. For persons who cannot meet the full registration rate, ABI will offer a reduced rate based on what the individual can reasonably afford to cover the cost of meals and materials. For persons unable to pay a reduced rate, ABI may allow the individual to work at the registration area for a few hours during attendee check-in, or assist in conference set-up. ABI also has reduced rates for government employees, professors, law clerks and students. Financial assistance is available for this program; all applications for financial assistance must be submitted by March 30, 2022. For more information or to request an application, please contact the American Bankruptcy Institute at (703) 739-0800 or send an e-mail to [email protected].