TMA Europe Distressed Investing Conference, 19. September 2013

 

Changing legislation, the price of debt, and how to make money out of an investment were among the topics debated at TMA Europe’s Distressed Investing conference.

 

Around 120 turnaround professionals from across Europe gathered in London for TMA Europe’s second annual evening event ‘Finding Value, Creating Value’ on 19 September.

 

The event offered delegates the chance to hear leading restructuring experts debating key industry issues and also to network with colleagues from across the continent.

 

The conference featured two panel discussions, the first focusing on ‘The Quest for Value’ which was moderated by Lars Westpfahl, head of the German restructuring/insolvency group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Panellists included Annerose Tashiro of Schultze and Braun, Barry Cahir of William Fry, Speranta Munteanu of KPMG, Neil Smyth of Taylor Wessing and Galina Alabatchka of Illiquidx.

 

The panel covered topics ranging from how to value a distressed asset and the pricing of debt, to the impact of changing legislation in different jurisdictions as well as how far investors should go to understand the way a business works and to involve its employees, work councils and shareholders.

 

The second panel discussed ‘Creating Value’, looking at how to get value out of an investment. This session was moderated by John Willcock, editor of Global Turnaround, with the panel comprising Will Wright of KPMG, Michel Rességuier of Prospheres, Aidan Robson of Endless, Markus Schmid of goetzpartners, David Bryan of Bryan, Mansell & Tilley, and Adam Plainer of Weil Gotshal.

 

This debate covered the relatively low levels of activity in distressed investing in most European countries and the influx of US investors. The discussion moved on to the need for more consensual and creative restructuring solutions, the role of operational expertise in turnarounds and its importance for creating value and the increased competition from more sophisticated trade buyers.

 

The conference, which was hosted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer at its Bouverie Street offices, also featured a keynote speech by Anousha Sakoui, mergers and acquisitions correspondent for the Financial Times.

 

Alan Tilley, TMA Europe director and co-host of the conference, said: “It was a really productive evening with a great keynote speech, and some excellent expert panellists who generated some thought-provoking discussions, which continued into the evening as the networking got under way. Many thanks to all who took part or attended.”

 

TMA Europe’s next major event will be its seventh annual conference being held in

Munich, Germany on 12 and 13 June 2014. More details will be available shortly at www.tma-europe.org.