Cloud 9fin

All eyes are on media giant Paramount Global and its $13bn debt stack, amid the threat of a downgrade to junk status. With streaming wars intensifying and cable subscribers slowly converting to Paramount Plus, many are left asking: Is Paramount’s debt heading for a rocky road, or is there still a way back to stability?

Despite its challenges, Paramount holds a strong liquidity position with $2.3 billion in cash and $3.5 billion in undrawn revolver capacity. However, with debt maturing soon and uncertainty surrounding the Skydance acquisition, the stakes are high as Paramount works to balance leverage and boost cash flow amid a shifting media landscape.

For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, senior reporter William Hoffman and credit analyst Dan Stone explore the drama unfolding at Paramount, the implications of its potential downgrade, and whether other media giants like Warner Bros. Discovery could be next in line.

Private credit funds are venturing back to their roots, embracing a strategy that blends the old with the new as hybrid deals are back in vogue.

But is this a nostalgic trip down memory lane, or a calculated move with long-term implications?

In this episode of Cloud 9fin, leveraged finance reporter Ryan Daniel and senior private credit reporter Synne Johnsson discuss this trend, the driving forces behind this shift and ponder the future of private credit in this evolving market.

Hedge funds are making a bold push into the private credit arena, lured by the promise of higher returns. However, new territory is not without its hurdles, as these funds navigate a landscape already populated by established players.

In this episode of Cloud 9fin private credit reporter Peter Benson and senior private credit reporter Shubham Saharan discuss the complexities of this market shift and the different strategies hedge funds are using to gain a foothold in private credit.

Private credit fundraising has been going through an inflection point in recent years, as high interest rates and geopolitical risk increasingly drive LPs to only the most established fund managers. The market shift has many wondering, is the sector leaving its “Golden Age” and entering its "Silver Fox era”?

Despite these challenges, investors are finding new opportunities as they adapt to the changing landscape.

For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, private credit reporters Peter Benson and Fin Strathern discuss the evolving world of private credit fundraising, the rise of more niche strategies, and the use of perpetual capital vehicles.

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision on 27 June ruled that a bankruptcy court does not have the statutory authority to provide non-consensual third party releases. Such releases had been a crucial part of the Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 plan, among others, where the bankruptcy system was being employed to shield non-debtors from litigation without full creditor consent.

The decision coincided with the timely publication of Unjust Debts by UNC law professor Melissa Jacoby, which provides a critical history of how the use of Chapter 11 has expanded far beyond the initial scope laid out in the Bankruptcy Code enacted in 1978.

For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, global head of distressed and restructuring Max Frumes discusses this refreshing and crucial snapshot of bankruptcy law that is both technical and accessible with Professor Jacoby, and how current events might further shape the bankruptcy courts around the country.

Not all liability management deals are "violent"; in fact the majority of deals in 2024 have allowed for participation by non ad hoc group lenders who in the past had been entirely cut out of the economics of non pro rata priming transactions.

For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, global head of distressed and restructuring Max Frumes, distressed legal analyst Jane Komsky, and private credit reporter Sami Vukelj walk through the world of liability management.

The discussion covers the benefits and limitations of this kinder, gentler LME trend, with a focus on the Pluralsight and AMC Entertainment transactions.

US leveraged buyout volumes are slowly starting to improve, with the likes of Apollo, Thoma Bravo, CD&R and TowerBrook making moves. This comes after a long period where buyers and sellers struggled to find common ground in valuations and could bring a welcome shot of new debt issuance for investors that are eager to lend. So what changed? And is this improvement in deal activity significant enough to satisfy investor demand for paper?

In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin — recorded before the recent spike in market volatility — US LevFin editor David Bell sits down with senior reporter Sasha Padbidri and credit analyst Alec Keblish to unpack the hottest themes of recent LBO activity.

The credit markets are constantly evolving, and CLOs are no exception. As hopeful new managers enter, less successful platforms fall away. This keeps the market healthy, says Napier Park’s global head of the CLO management platform Serhan Secmen. But what makes a manager successful?

In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, Serhan joins our own global head of CLOs, Tanvi Gupta, in the inaugural episode of Tranche Talk for a granular look at mezzanine and equity tranches, how to evaluate CLO positions and how shopping for CLOs can be a lot like buying a new car.

Follow all of Tanvi’s coverage of the CLO market here on the 9fin dashboard.

Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at [email protected].

Tumultuous waves have long beset Thames Water, but last week a massive one hit the imperiled UK utility company head on as Moody's cut its opco debt to junk.

With too much debt, poor quality assets from decades of under investment, and a plan the water regulator rejected, Thames's opco downgrade was widely expected across the market. But what happens next?

To answer that question, 9fin editor Dan Alderson, senior distressed reporter Will Macadam and ABS editor Owen Sanderson hit the studio just after the downgrade was announced. The resulting bonus episode of Cloud 9fin is packed with insights and constructive speculation about what Thames's fallen angel status, license challenges and a new UK government entail for the uncharted waters ahead.

Find all of our coverage of Thames Water here on the 9fin dashboard. Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at [email protected].

For the vendors and firms owed money by a bankrupt company, the primary motivation to join an Unsecured Creditors’ Committee is often simple: maximize economic recoveries. But Doctor Dennis Deruelle had other priorities.

Listen as Dennis recounts the struggles faced by hospital staff and patients from his viewpoint as the Executive Medical Director for Hospital Medicine and Critical Care during the rapid shuttering of American Physician Partners.

In this interview with 9fin deputy distressed debt editor Rachel Butt, Dennis lays out the concerns he had during the process and why he joined the UCC as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings. He shares what his experience was like as the only true clinician on the committee, and what he thinks healthcare vendors and the credit industry can learn from the APP process.