Q: You have an interesting background for someone in this field. What were you doing before gravitating into turnaround and restructuring work? Baxter-Labut: I was a customs and immigration officer for seven years with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Q: How did that come about? Baxter-...
As the pandemic headwinds continue to buffet the economy and the spectre of spiralling energy costs and long-term inflation looms large, businesses that were once riding high now risk being deflected off course just at the time when they are trying to navigate their emergence. With near-term...
The concept and benefits of providing debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing under Bankruptcy Code Section 364 are not new. But because DIP financing negotiations are often conducted on a compressed timeline and can be both complex and laborious, this article serves as both a primer and refresher for...
The well-known pop song “Blurred Lines” is about the conflict between societies’ desire for more and the desire to respect boundaries. The song could be describing the current state of affairs between and among investment banks, on the one hand, and, on the other, turnaround firms and accounting...
Over the past two years, distressed investing has been, well, distressed. Fewer opportunities have been available for distressed lenders outside of industries directly impacted by COVID, such as hospitality. New Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rules have allowed banks more leeway to...
As Europe prepared to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and navigate the resultant uncertain economic environment, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, plunging the continent into disarray once again. The unprecedented pandemic followed on the heels of Brexit, which itself will have lasting...
The distressed market arguably always has a relatively small share of global capital markets. (Canada’s last recession, for instance, was in 2008-2009.) But in this recent environment characterized by strong M&A activity and easy access to debt and equity capital over the past five years or so...
When investing in distressed or “storied” situations, today’s lenders must double down on the energy and thoughtfulness of their approach to succeed in an environment characterized by unprecedented uncertainty and volatility. Because the road to recovery for the situation will likely be impacted by...
As professionals in the restructuring, corporate renewal, and insolvency industries, we witness obstacles and challenges caused by disruption that our clients and businesses face every day. Although no one could have predicted the “disruption of the century” caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic,...
Change is constant and keeps the restructuring industry ever evolving and always interesting. Midway through, 2022 has proven to be no different. A new wrinkle, inflation, is directly impacting every industry, requiring management teams to adapt to survive. The impacts of inflation will take many...
