Distressed Asset Investing & Corporate Restructuring 2021 | Wharton Executive Education | 19 October 2021 | Online Event

Distressed Asset Investing and Corporate Restructuring will present the challenges and techniques to help you identify and evaluate the investment opportunities that are rapidly surfacing in today's marketplace. Sharpen your ability to spot promising investment opportunities in this lucrative asset class by learning how to assess the value of a company in or close to bankruptcy and understand how that value is likely to be distributed across the layers of the capital structure.

The decade-spanning bull market that America has enjoyed — the longest in history — has been severely disrupted. But one result of the tremendous volatility and uncertainty currently in the market is that there will likely appear once-in-a-generation opportunities to acquire formerly pricey assets at a discount and realize above-market returns by investing in financially strapped companies.

For those in the role of a senior-level leader in a company facing distress, whether due to economic decline or having undergone a leveraged buyout or for any other reason, this program is also right for you. Gain clarity and increased confidence when evaluating your alternatives, on both the operating and the financing sides of your business, and hone your understanding of the potential benefits and consequences of the restructuring alternatives available to the company.

Highlights and Key Outcomes:
• Understand how and why a company fails and the turnaround process
• Foresee signs of crisis in a firm's financial statements
• Identify the long-term value of and investment opportunities in distressed assets
• Appreciate the time frame to turn around a distressed asset and the level of risk involved
• Become knowledgeable about the roles of managers, investors, advisors, and consultants in restructuring debt
• Hone negotiation skills to maximize returns of complex distressed situations

Experience & Impact
Distressed Asset Investing and Corporate Restructuring is an essential program for every company leader and corporate investor who is looking beyond the current crisis and preparing to navigate and capitalize on the distressed asset investment opportunities that are emerging.

In this unique program, you will come to understand corporate restructuring and distressed asset investing from multiple points of view: that of company managers, CFOs, investors, bankers, advisors, and consultants. No matter your specific role, you will benefit from seeing the total picture, since many functions overlap or are interdependent. For example, to invest wisely in a distressed company, you need to grasp how the turnaround will be managed. In addition, many hedge fund managers and private equity firms now engage in a “loan-to-own” scenario in which they buy debt with an eye toward achieving equity ownership in the post-restructured company. Today, the savviest investors, managers, and advisors will be those who understand all sides of a distressing situation and envision the possibility of tremendous returns.

This program will take a value investing approach to analyzing distressed assets, including the technique of estimating the fundamental intrinsic value of the underlying business. This knowledge will help you move beyond faulty notions of equating price with a value that might hamper your investing success. You will also learn how to perform discounted cash flow valuation in distressed situations. Moreover, you will find out about the relevant legal environment and its implications for restructuring options.

Negotiation skills are critical in corporate restructuring, and this program covers negotiations in these typically high-pressure, crisis-mode scenarios to help you obtain the best return on investment. Throughout the program, participants benefit from the world-renowned expertise of Wharton faculty; eye-opening talks by guest speakers; and a collegial, interactive learning environment.

The live, online version of Distressed Asset Investing and Corporate Restructuring will be delivered online daily for seven days. It will be taught by the same Wharton faculty who teach in the on-campus program. Distressed Asset Investing and Corporate Restructuring offers, and requires, a high level of engagement through class discussion, case studies, and role-play. Participants will have direct access to Wharton faculty throughout the program, and engage in dynamic group work that helps reinforce the learning and enable networking among the peer community. This online program is a fully immersive and structured learning experience that culminates with a new set of knowledge and tools that can be put to immediate use.

Building Your Network
This live online program will also include opportunities for you to get to know the other participants and build your professional network. These sessions include:
• Wharton After Hours
Wharton faculty will lead an online discussion board that moves beyond the day’s content into global current events. Think of it as faculty office hours but online.
• Reflection Tool
Participants summarize key concepts and insights they learn each day and describe how these insights might impact them or their behavior going forward. Participants identify questions they wish to ask the faculty or fellow participants. These reflections are reviewed daily in peer groups to refine and deepen comprehension during the program as well as enabling better recall to apply the learning for maximum impact and value creation.

Session Topics Include:
• Assessing the Financial Distress
• Causes of Distress: The Danger of Growth and Pathways for Restructuring
• Strategies for Investors: Hedge Funds and Private Equity
• Foundations of Value Investing in a Distressed Environment
• Exchange Offers and Debt Restructuring
• Distressed Negotiation
• The Legal Environment: Implications for Restructuring Alternatives
• Turnaround Management
• The New Business Landscape: Trend Acceleration in the Wake of the Pandemic

Who Should Attend:
Distressed Asset Investing and Corporate Restructuring offers timely and highly relevant content to many different types of professionals.

On the investor side, the program is relevant for anyone interested in investing in or providing advisory services to firms in distressed situations. This will include those working in hedge funds, private equity, or direct investment.

It will also be of interest to ultra-high-net-worth investors and institutions who wish to assess money managers who invest in distressed assets and want to know how to effectively evaluate their strategies and performance.

On the corporate side, chief financial officers, particularly those that are currently under pressure to maintain liquidity and need to change debt strategies in the current economic climate, will benefit from attending this program.

Additionally, the techniques and concepts we discuss will also be directly relevant for those working in advisory roles such as consultants, attorneys, and CPAs, and those serving companies facing restructuring or who are hired by investors who are considering an investment in distressed companies.

Job functions and roles include
Managers:
• CFOs and other C-suite executives who are responsible for negotiating with lenders and/or raising capital
• Senior-level executives at highly leveraged and private-equity-owned companies

Investors:
• Distressed-debt purchasers
• Hedge-fund portfolio managers
• Private-equity groups
• Chief investment officers and investment analysts for family offices
• Portfolio managers for pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and large institutional investors
• High-yield investors
• Limited partners

Advisors:
• Multinational management consultants
• Investment bankers and commercial lenders
• Bank loan-sale professionals
• Senior lenders and second-lien lenders
• Workout lenders (debtor-in-possession or DIP lending)
• Corporate bankruptcy attorneys

Fluency in English, written and spoken, is required for participation in Wharton Executive Education programs unless otherwise indicated.