Contact: John Hartgen
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ABI PARTNERS WITH AIRA AND THE UNIVERISTY OF TEXAS TO EXAMINE VALUATION OF DISTRESSED COMPANIES AND INVESTMENTS AT VALCON ‘09 CONFERENCE

November 12, 2008, Alexandria, Va.— The American Bankruptcy Institute, Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors and the University of Texas Continuing Legal Education program are sponsoring “VALCON 09: Risk, Restructurings, Real Estate & Retail,” taking place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas Feb. 25-27, 2009. VALCON 09 attendees will be able to earn up to 15.25 hours of CLE and 18 hours of CPE credit with the opportunity to take part in special valuation fundamentals and technical valuation breakout program tracks. VALCON 09 will also feature a keynote by Allan Sloan of Fortune magazine looking at credit, liquidity, the U.S. Treasury and toxic credit swaps.

The program is a unique opportunity to meet some of the leading dealmakers and industry leaders in distressed debt and corporate restructuring.

Two technical valuation program tracks will be presented on the first day of the conference, Feb. 25. Prof. Robert Parrino of the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin will preside over the “Bootcamp: Financials and Valuation Methods” program track:

• The “Financial Statements and Financial Analysis” session will cover the three key financial statements, their limitations and how they are used to evaluate the performance of a business.
  
• “Understanding the Roles, Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Valuation Methodologies” examines basic valuation methodologies, including cost, market and income (DCF) approaches.
  
• Prof. Jay C. Hartzell of the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin joins Prof. Parrino for the “Case Study: Condominium Complex and Related Valuation Issues” session. Illustrating the application of valuation methodologies and the complications in the current market environment, this discussion will focus on a case involving a new condominium complex in an over-built market.

Grant W. Newton of Pepperdine University and AIRA (Medford, Ore.) will preside over the second program track, “Technical Valuation Issues”:

• The “Emerging Valuation Techniques:  Company-specific Risk and its Application in Judicial Proceedings” session will explore methods of assessing company specific risk premiums for both nondistressed and distressed businesses, and consider acceptance by the courts of such premiums. Paul N. Shields of LECG (Salt Lake City) will moderate the session with panelists Joseph A. DiSalvatore of Huron Consulting Group (New York), Michael H. Goldstein of Greenberg Traurig, LLP (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Prof. David C. Smith of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.).
  
• Bryan Benoit of Grant Thornton LLP (Houston) will moderate “The Impact of Globalization on Valuation of Distressed Debt and Businesses” session with panelists Neil Beaton of Grant Thornton LLP (Seattle) and N. Lynn Hiestand of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (London). This presentation will include a special focus on real and expected shifts in global markets for capital, the effects of the U.S. financial crisis on value and the impact of regulation on value.
  
• The “Risk Premium: Time Period, Arithmetic or Geometric, etc.” session will feature a debate between Roger J. Grabowski ASA of Duff & Phelps LLC (Chicago) and Bernard Pump of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLP (Chicago) on the issues that impact the equity risk premium. The session will be moderated by Grant W. Newton of Pepperdine University and AIRA (Medford, Ore.).

J. Scott Victor of National City Capital Markets (West Conshohocken, Pa.) will preside over the morning programming on Feb. 26:

• The “Bubbles and Bursts: Do Traditional Valuation Methodologies Work in a World Where Markets Misbehave?” session with moderator Thomas E. Lumsden of FTI Consulting, Inc. (San Francisco) and panelists Robert J. Moore of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP (Los Angeles), James D. Decker of Morgan Joseph & Co., Inc.; (New York) and Prof. Sheridan Titman of the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
  
• Andrew I. Silfen of Arent Fox LLP (New York) will moderate the “Valuation Case Law Update: Legal and Financial Perspectives” session with panelists Lisa G. Beckerman of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (New York), William Q. Derrough of Moelis & Company (New York) and ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Jack F. Williams of Georgia State Univeristy and BDO Consulting (Atlanta).
  
• The judicial panel examining valuation issues, moderated by John (Jack) Wm. Butler Jr. of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Chicago), will feature Bankruptcy Judges Kevin J. Carey (Wilmington, Del.), Robert D. Drain (New York), Christopher S. Sontchi (Wilmington, Del.) and Gregg W. Zive (Reno, Nev.).
  

Kaaran E. Thomas of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP (Reno, Nev.) will preside over the Feb. 26 afternoon sessions that include:

• ABI President-Elect Robert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (Portland, Maine) will moderate the “Mid-Market Restructurings: What Happens if No One Comes to the Sale?” session with panelists Edward T. Gavin of NachmanHaysBrownstein (Wilmington, Del.), Michael P. Richman of Foley & Lardner LLP (New York), Durc A. Savini of Miller Buckfire & Co. (New York) and Roopesh K. Shah of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (New York).
  
• The “Real Estate: State of the Industry” session, moderated by Ben E. Barnett, Platinum Advisors LLC (Dallas), will include panelists David Brown of Metrostudy (Dallas), Ronald F. Greenspan of FTI Consulting (Los Angeles) and John F. Young of Block, Markus & Williams LLC (Denver).
  
• The “How Will the Bankruptcy Courts Deal with Problems in the Real Estate Sector?” judicial panel, moderated by James L. Garrity Jr. of Shearman & Sterling LLP (New York), will feature Bankruptcy Judges Charles G. Case II (Phoenix), Leif M. Clark (San Antonio), Robert A. Mark (Miami) and Richard M. Neiter (Los Angeles).

The presiding officer for the final day of programming, Feb. 27, is D. Bobbitt Noel Jr., Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. (Houston). Sessions include:

• “The Credit Crisis, Capital and the Failure of Risk Management” session featuring Prof. George (Yiorgos) Allayannis of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.) analyzing the causes of the credit crisis and the central role of capital and risk management in it.
  
• Prof. Robert Parrino of the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin will moderate the “2009 Deals, Valuations, Investment Strategies and Risks” session with panelists Jonathan Katz of Panagos Katz Situational Investing (New York), William C. Repko of Evercore Partners, Inc. (New York) and Guhan Swaminathan of Virgo Capital (Austin, Tex.).
  
• The “Advising Boards in an Illiquid World” will be moderated by Peter S. Kaufman of Gordian Group, LLC (New York) and include panelists Evelyn H. Biery of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (Houston), Marcia L. Goldstein of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (New York) and E. Norman Veasey of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (Wilmington, Del.).
  
• Moderator Thomas J. Allison of Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC (Chicago) will be joined by panelists Jeffrey C. Bloomberg of Gordon Brothers Group LLC (Boston), Cory Lipoff of Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC (Northbrook, Ill.) and Pamela M. O'Neill of AlixPartners, LLP (New York) for the “Retailing: Market Developments and Restructuring Issues Including Brand Valuations” session.

For more information on the VALCON 09 Conference, please visit http://www.abiworld.org/VALCON09.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,700 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.