Events
Redcliffe’s Debt Finance 2012 Conference
23.04.2012
Location: London, The Grange City Hotel
Organization: Redcliffe Training Associates
Website:
This conference builds on the highly successful Private Equity conference held by Redcliffe in September 2011 which attracted an audience of 240. It will review the trends, developments, prospects and opportunities for both investment grade and high yield borrowers and will identify and emphasise the key issues in the market.
The impact of the global credit crisis has had a dramatic and adverse effect on traditional bank lending in Europe and the USA as banks have sought to rebuild their balance sheets and face the challenges posed by Basel III, domestic regulatory pressure to raise additional capital and the dislocation in the interbank market triggered by volatile macro-economic conditions. The reduction in bank lending in 2010 and 2011 has been filled in considerable part by the bond markets. However, public bond markets are notoriously skittish and prone to sudden closure when confidence evaporates. Other sources of finance have taken up some of the slack with institutional loan funds, the US private placement market and mezzanine investors all playing their part.
The conference will draw together senior level industry experts from respected international firms and will include commentary on recent deals, current trends and topical issues. They will also debate the most important and pressing topics in this field in today’s capital markets. Their technical presentations from a banking, capital markets or legal perspective will cover many different aspects of raising debt capital and explain the thought process which underpins the structure and negotiation of major transactions.
AGENDA
08:15 - 08:45 Coffee & Registration
09:00 Chairman’s Opening Remarks
Jonathan Trower Managing Director of the Debt Advisory Group, DC Advisory Partners
09:10 The Leverage Loan Market
Paolo Grassi, Managing Director, Leveraged Loan Syndications EMEA, BNP Paribas
- Key trends and developments in large cap deals (pricing, leverage)
- Key challenges to lenders – disintermediation by bond markets, new investors (KKR), private placements
- Outlook for the mid-cap market
- Liquidity – the Institutionalisation of EU loan markets - will Europe catch the US, will CDOs revive, if not who will replace them?
- Is second lien back on the menu?
Questions & Answers
09:40 Asset Based Lending
Jeremy Harrison, Senior Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Recent developments and trends
- Can it break new ground in volatile markets?
- What do ABL lenders require?
- Advantages compared to other forms of lending (pricing, security issues)
Questions & Answers
10:10 High Yield Bond Market
Kevin Connell, Managing Director - High Yield Syndicate, The Royal Bank of Scotland
- Sponsored vs sponsor less deals – spot the difference
- Market overview, trends and developments
- Is the high yield market here to stay?
- Who are the current players – what is driving liquidity
- Have Sponsors changed their tune on high yield or will they revert to mezzanine when conditions improve?
- The evolution of bifurcated (bond / loan) structures
- Which terms are the most contentious for investors / borrowers
- High yield bridges, hung bridges & escrow deals
Questions & Answers
10:40 Morning Coffee & Networking Opportunity
11:00 Mezzanine – Can The Resurrection Continue?
Matthew Robinson, Director, Intermediate Capital Group
- Who are the key players in the market – how have they changed vs pre 2007
- Recent deal structures in mezzanine (pricing, leverage, warrants, call protection)
- Does mezzanine have a future in the face of other options - stretched senior, high yield, 2nd Lien, PIK or upsized equity cheques?
- Recent innovations (Securitas Direct)
- Unitranche – an isolated case or here to stay (Courtepaille)
Questions & Answers
11:30 The Corporate Loan Market (Sponsorless deals)
Atif Malik, Director, Syndicate Debt Finance, Barclays Corporate
- Investment grade/large-caps
o Key trends and developments
o Typical terms, ternors and pricing
o Market outlook
- Mid-market lenders
o Key trends and developments
o Typical terms, ternors and pricing
o Market outlook
Questions & Answers
12:00 The Convertible Debt Market
- The case in favour
- Trends and developments in the convertible debt market – can it maintain momentum?
- Pros & cons in the current market - An opportunity for Investors in the face of the yield curve
- Will volatile equity markets undermine or fuel future convertible future issuance
Questions & Answers
12:30 Lunch & Networking Opportunity
14:00 Documentation Issues in Bifurcated Structures: Senior Bonds vs Senior Loans
Stephen Mostyn-Williams, CEO, DebtXplained
- Review of bifurcated structures featuring senior bonds and senior loans
- Key negotiation issues and points of contention:
o Current market structures
o Super senior RCF’s
o Disclosure
- Control and default (triggers for note holder/loan holder control)
- Security and shared security
- Release of security/Guarantees (note holders’ consent?) Pre/Post Enforcement
- Differential standstills for bonds and loans
- Which terms are currently the greatest points of contention?
Questions & Answers
14:30 Debt Finance in Corporate (Sponsorless) Acquisitions
Alastair Macdonald, Head of Loan Origination and Acquisition Finance EMEA, Deutsche Bank
- The key deal drivers for M&A in Europe. What should investors focus on?
- Which are the key sectors?
- Current trends in the market
- Recent innovations (accelerated structured bond offerings)
- Future developments in 2012
Questions & Answers
15:00 Afternoon Tea & Networking Opportunity
15:20 Private Placement Market – Filling The Gap
- Key drivers of the strong demand in Europe
- Review of recent deals and current trends
- Can institutional lenders fill the gap left by traditional lenders
- Will a European market evolve in time?
- Who are the issuers – typical profile
- Typical investors
Questions & Answers
15:50 Restructuring Renegotiating Debts
Jarek Golebiowski, Director - Restructuring Services, Deloitte LLP
- What is the outlook for 2012 and beyond?
- What impact will the refinancing cliff present?
- What are the options open to borrowers: refinancing, amend and extend or amend and pretend, forward starts?
- Reactive or proactive debt restructuring – different triggers for sponsored & sponsorless deals
- Restructuring – key aspects of the process
- Key dynamics of shaping a solution
- Typical solutions for the current market
Questions & Answers
16:20 Inter-creditor Issues – A New Paradigm?
Alistair Hill, Managing Associate - Linklaters LLP
- A changing landscape in the wake of the US invasion?
- A new dispensation following RBS WorldPay et seq.
- Are the “standard” inter-creditor terms under attack and if so where are the new pressure points
- The new battles - valuation (IMO Carwash), release of security (European Directories), fees & costs, option to purchase at “market”, option to purchase for sponsors?
- Critical issues for bondholders in bifurcated structures
Questions & Answers
16:50 Chairman’s Closing Remarks
Jonathan Trower, Managing Director of the Debt Advisory Group, DC Advisory Partners
Price: £495+VAT (£570)
Contacts:
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7387 4484
Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7383 3507
Email: post@redcliffetraining.co.uk
