Cloud 9fin

In the inaugural episode of The In-Court Report with Cat Corey, distressed legal analyst Cat Corey brings in Vince Buccola, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and Lara Sheikh, bankruptcy legal analyst at 9fin, to discuss the latest trends relating to backstop fees in rights offerings and DIP financings, along with the impact of the recent ConvergeOne decision.The episode also discusses a recent paper authored by Professor Buccola, along with Adi Marcovich Gross and Matthew McBrady, that analyzes the returns to equity rights offering backstop commitments.Find all our coverage on issues relating to backstop fees at 9fin.com.Have any feedback on the podcast? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com — thanks for listening!

A lot has changed in European restructuring this year.Two more appeals in the UK courts — Thames Water and Petrofac — led to **Waldorf** failing at the first hurdle as judges increasingly focus on being fairer to creditors who are considered out of the money.The appeals have created a lot of uncertainty as restructuring practitioners are trying to work out what exactly is considered fair? The Supreme Court hearing on Waldorf’s case in February hopefully should provide more clarity.Issuers have been starting to shy away from using the UK Restructuring Plan to avoid the risk of their plan being reversed by the Court of Appeal. Instead they are increasingly turning to looking into ways to implement out of court through liability management exercises in other European jurisdictions.We saw this in Selecta which implemented its restructuring through a distressed disposal in the Netherlands.Private credit is also in the lime light this year as the market has been growing its presence in distress both as providers of fresh capital and as private credit lenders end up taking the keys.In this episode we delve into all these emerging themes with Daniel Bayfield, Barrister at South Square and Lois Deasey and Matt Benson, restructuring partners from Weil. All three provide insights on their involvement in all of the above mentioned cases.Weil and 9fin initially sat down to discuss these topics at the Weil & 9fin Private Credit & Restructuring Autumn Forum on 8 October (find here some of the highlights of that day). This podcast is for the benefit of those who could not attend!

It seems like everyone has a different definition of middle market direct lending and what challenges so-called ‘middle market’ borrowers and lenders are facing.Join PGIM’s head of middle market direct lending, Matt Harvey, and 9fin senior private credit reporter Shubham Saharan as they explore trends in the middle market and what direct lenders and LPs should be on the lookout for as they head into 2026.Have any feedback for us? Send a note to podcast@9fin.com.

It’s not every day that we get to talk about something that’s quite literally out of this world.We’re referring to space-based data centers, which billionaire tech titans and startups alike are racing to build out as AI fever grips Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Proponents argue that space data centers offer substantial benefits versus their terrestrial counterparts, including freedom from natural disaster risks, access to unlimited free solar power and elimination of complex cooling requirements.Global head of Distressed & LevFin Max Frumes sat down with LevFin deputy editor Sasha Padbidri to unpack what this means for existing data center infrastructure and the billions of dollars of debt financing already raised by giants like Meta, CoreWeave and Amazon to fund those buildouts.Have any feedback about this episode? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com. You can also check out our feature on space data centers here.

In this episode of Cloud 9fin, distressed debt reporter Ayden Crosby and editor Rachel Butt sit down with Jamie Sprayregen, vice chairman of global strategy and growth at Hilco Global, for a grand tour through 2025’s hottest topics in distressed credit and the restructuring world.We asked Jamie about his views on a number of 9fin’s favorite themes, including how AI is disrupting the market, the rise of ABS deals from stressed issuers, tussles between sponsors and creditors, the impact of tariffs, and his takeaways from the rapid downfall of First Brands.

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.