Cloud 9fin

Private equity-owned education companies like Houghton Mifflin and Lakeshore Learning are learning a hard lesson in the US leveraged finance market this year as their loans and bonds have tumbled to trade at discounts.In this episode of Cloud 9fin, senior reporter Sunny Oh sat down with US managing editor Bill Weisbrod and discussed his story about how investors have taken a close look at this group of borrowers and asked what the future holds for them in a world where school districts have had to tighten belts and cut spending.Most notably, we talked about how the expiration of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Program (ESSER) has hurt education borrowers who have struggled to fill in the hole left by the $190bn policy. Meanwhile, falling school enrollment and the global trade war has compounded issues in the sector.

In this episode of Jane’s LME Addiction, our head of LME coverage Jane Komsky brings in Davis Polk partners Brian Resnick and Hilary Dengel to discuss voting cap and lender concentration cap language in credit agreements and how they may affect creditor organization and liability management exercises. They discuss the goals of these provisions, whether these provisions are “anti-co-op”, and whether they are more effective than DQ lists for sponsors trying to decide who buys into their debt.Find all our coverage on concentration caps, voting caps, and DQ lists at 9fin.com.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

High-profile US bankruptcies, First Brands and Tricolor have sent warning signals to regulators about the dangers of opaque financings, shining a light on private credit.Are these cases one offs, given allegations of fraud, or will there be more cockroaches to follow?In this episode of Distressed Diaries, 9fin’s senior distressed reporter Bianca Boorer sat down with senior distressed reporter Alessia Argentieri and private credit reporter Gregory Rosenvinge to talk about risks lurking in private credit.We address some defaults, recent takeovers by private credit funds and lessons learned from the First Brands case.We also touch on some new tools the private credit market is employing to increase its liquidity further.

As private credit continues to grow, it is constantly looking for new ways to deploy the mountain of capital it has raised. Now that the market is of scale, it has begun to look at investment grade credit as another avenue on which to make deals.In this episode of Cloud 9fin, senior private credit reporter Peter Benson sits down with Ryan Schwartz, managing director in Brookfield Asset Management’s credit group to discuss the burgeoning asset class. They discuss what IG private credit is, how deals can be structured, and why IG private credit makes sense for investors.Have any feedback for us on the podcast? Send a note to podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Tranche Talk, Cloud 9fin’s CLO series, our global head of CLOs Tanvi Gupta, talks with Edwin Wilches, Co-head of Securitized Products at PGIM.They talk about how securitization is the key component in Europe’s growth agenda, how more work needs to be done for Solvency II, the evolution of insurance demand, relative value and the impact on liquidity from recent regulations. They also delve into the unintended consequences of putting out a clarification in the middle of summer and the art of staying zen.Have any feedback for us on the podcast? Send a note to podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Tranche Talk, Cloud 9fin’s CLO series, our global head of CLOs, Tanvi Gupta, talks with Saffet Ozbalci, global head of structured credit at BlackRock.They talk about the nuances of investing in CLOs with a backdrop of dramatic bankruptcies, relative value in CLO tranches in a new rate regime, what’s next in structural innovation in the capital stack, the need for standardization of docs and, most importantly, the (unlikely) outcome of the UEFA Champions League.Have any feedback for us on the podcast? Send a note to podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Jane’s LME Addiction, 9fin’s head of LME coverage Jane Komsky sits down with 9fin private credit reporters Shubham Saharan and Tom Quinn, to discuss how sponsors are adding the ability to veto their portfolio companies’ creditors’ choice of law firm. They discuss the how these provisions came about, what iterations have passed into the market, and whether these provisions are ethical.Find all of our coverage on LME litigation on 9fin.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

An old adage is proving true in the private credit markets: it takes money to make money. Or maybe more accurately in this case, it takes billable hours to make money.In this episode of Cloud 9fin, head of private credit Josie Shillito digs into Dominus Capital’s buyout of Creative Outdoor Advertising with reporters Tom Quinn and Anna Russi. They unpack their recent article, which gives a behind-the-scenes view into how the sponsor front-loaded a negotiated credit agreement with Twin Brook before entering exclusivity with the seller.It’s another example of an emerging strategy to win deals on speed and certainty in a tight lower middle market. They discuss what the bold move signals for lenders, lawyers, and future auctions.Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Cloud 9fin, our global head of CLOs, Tanvi Gupta, returns for her ongoing series, Tranche Talk. This time, she’s joined by Oak Hill Advisors’ portfolio manager Tommy Wong.They dive into the forces shaping today’s CLO market — including macroeconomic drivers, asset allocation strategies, credit selection in a low-arb environment, as well as the effects of M&A on loan supply.Have any feedback for us? Send a note to podcast@9fin.com.

Betting on sports has been a huge engine of growth for LevFin gaming companies. But is sports contract betting a boom or bust moment for the industry?As apps like Robinhood and Kalshi make it possible to buy or sell contracts based on all kinds of binary events, some gaming companies are eyeing the potential windfall from bringing the same kind of contract trading to sports events.In this week’s episode of Syndication Nation, a podcast dedicated to all things leveraged finance-related, Peter Hammon, online gaming and sports betting lawyer and senior of counsel at Vela Wood, joins 9fin leveraged finance reporter Zoe Han to talk about the fast moving scene around sports contract betting, including the implications of the recently announced partnership between gaming company FanDuel and CME, one of the world’s biggest derivatives marketplaces.They discuss how contract betting could supercharge the next phase of growth for gaming credits — or leave them mired in regulatory red tape. Place your bets!Have any feedback about this episode? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

Litigation against aggressive liability management exercises in Europe is on the rise as creditors fight back against sponsor’s tactics to prime minority creditors.Back in November a group of primed creditors in Dutch lingerie maker Hunkemoller filed a lawsuit in New York against US hedge fund Redwood after it uptiered its portion of the debt.Redwood implemented the same tactic in another uptier transaction with UK carpet maker Victoria PLC’s notes, which primed minority holders.More recently, in August a minority creditor in Swiss vending machine provider Selecta filed an appeal against its restructuring in a Dutch court.In this episode of Distressed Diaries, 9fin’s senior distressed reporter Bianca Boorer sat down with Duane Loft, partner at Pallas Partners, who is representing the primed holders in Hunkemoller, and 9fin senior distressed credit analyst Denitsa Stoyanova CFA.We discuss the Hunkemoller case, provide updates on the litigation process, and examine potential outcomes if Victoria's transaction faces legal challenges.We also delve into what creditors should consider when deciding whether to litigate, how litigation can help with negotiations, and compare litigation practices in the US versus Europe. And for more background see here our three-part series on the Americanisation of European LMEs.

In this episode of Jane’s LME Addiction, 9fin’s head of LME coverage Jane Komsky brings in Shai Schmidt, a partner from Glenn Agre, to discuss how minority holders are thinking about LMEs. They discuss the best time to organize, when to negotiate and when to litigate, and tools and trends for minority holders to consider.Find all of our coverage on LME litigation on 9fin.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

Private equity has made its way into nearly 23% of for-profit US hospitals, despite financial goals that can be at odds with the patient-oriented priorities in health systems.Distressed reporter Samantha Kroontje went to a new “healthcare desert” in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to speak to some of the people impacted by the closure of its main health system, which came after years of debt-funded growth and dividends led by former private equity owner Leonard Green.In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, deputy distressed editor Rachel Butt spoke with Kroontje about the reporting process for a recent feature story on the fallout of Prospect Medical’s bankruptcy. It delves into the financial maneuvers of Prospect’s previous private equity owner that led to the company’s unravelling, the healthcare workers who were impacted, and the local vendors likely to get pennies on the dollar.Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

What happens when a banker gets fed up with outdated technology and decides to build something better?In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, we depart from our usual programming to share an interview produced by one of 9fin’s investors, redalpine. Co-founder Steven Hunter shares how he turned years of complaining about broken fintech into 9fin — a 357-person company that's disrupting global debt markets.Discover how he and his university roommate went from sketching company values on their kitchen table to growing rapidly in the US and UK, and why they chose to be "tech-first." Plus: his father's brutal advice about winning that drives everything 9fin does.For more info about 9fin, visit our Insights page. To get in touch about this episode or any other, reach out at podcast@9fin.com.

The English courts have been called upon several times in the last few years to reevaulate what should be considered fair in Part 26A restructuring plans.Within 2025, the Court of Appeal handed down two key decisions on distressed utility company Thames Water and upstream energy engineering firm Petrofac’s restructuring plans.Those decisions, combined with another Court of Appeal decision handed down last year on German real estate group Adler’s restructuring plan, have reconfigured the approach to assessing whether a restructuring is fair.There are now new tests for evaluating whether a restructuring plan is fair, and a focus on fair allocation and what contributions stakeholders are making to the restructuring, as well as what they get out.To unpack recent trends in Part 26A restructuring plans and what the recent Court of Appeal decisions mean for the future of UK restructuring plans, 9fin’s Will Macadam sat down Kirkland & Ellis partners Kate Stephenson and Kon Asimacopoulos, and David Allison KC of South Square.

In this episode of Jane’s LME Addiction, *9fin’*s head of LME coverage Jane Komsky brings in Sound Point Capital Management managing director, Morgan O’Neill to discuss the intersection of private credit and LMEs. They discuss the red flags and green flags of whether a deal away is a real possibility or just there to threaten exiting lenders and how to tell if a LME will be built to last.Find all of our coverage on LME litigation on 9fin.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

In this week’s episode of Syndication Nation, a podcast dedicated to all things leveraged finance, 9fin LevFin reporter Dan Mika talks with Barclays Head of US Credit Strategy Dominique Toublan about Barclays’ credit capitulation and complacency signals.What does the recent miss and revision in the US jobs report mean for lenders? What does it mean when credit spreads are getting tighter despite the lack of new debt issuance? And why did Dan reference a TikTok meme from 2023 to frame these questions?Have any feedback about this episode? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com. Thanks for listening!

On Sunday 27 July, US and the EU have struck a deal to set at 15% tariffs on EU export to the US, which is not as high as president Donald Trump previously threatened, but can still impact Europe’s biggest car producer, Germany.Senior distressed reporter Bianca Boorer, host of this series, travelled to Munich to find out just how big the dent on the auto sector will be.She sits down with Hendrik Hauke restructuring partner at Willkie, who has acted as legal advisor to auto suppliers Huf Group and IFA Group, Felix Kuhnert, head of automotive in Germany at PwC, and Florian Bruder, restructuring partner at DLA Piper.In the podcast we take a look to the challenges the car industry was already facing with its mandated transition to electric vehicles by 2035 and whether auto makers can switch to producing equipment for the defense industry.On the finance side, banks have been tightening their belts on their exposure to the sector, which may open up private credit as a new option. Restructurings have also been on the rise as a result of the volatility but not at the speed at which one would expect. At 9fin we have been covering the restructurings of auto suppliers Huf Group, Webasto, IFA Group and Standard Profil.What will put the brakes on this downturn? Tune in to find out.Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com.

In this episode of Cloud9fin, our distressed debt editor Rachel Butt brings in Jonathan Foster, founder of Current Capital Partners, to discuss corporate governance in restructurings and bankruptcies. They delved into Jon’s career, his book On Board, and thorny topics including the so-called super repeaters trend and third party releases.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

In this episode of Jane’s LME Addiction, 9fin’s head of LME coverage Jane Komsky brings in Mudrick Capital Management founder, Jason Mudrick, and Akin Gump partners Dan Fisher and Jaisohn Im to discuss disqualified lender (DQ) lists. They discuss the the goal of DQ lists, whether they actually work (spoiler: they believe they do not), and the implications for sponsors and lenders involved. Find all of our coverage on LME litigation on 9fin.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!