The lenders of private capital companies who have difficulties have had a difficult time in recent times, regularly move with great losses after fierce refinancing battles. But his comparence that was attributed in recent years in garbage credit of the commercial builders of Europe, sympathized a lot.
While buying companies have had to maintain at least one of the future relations with the community of creditors, the people who have built their empires of problems from scratch have been more difficult adversaries, according to several market participants. In the words of a key lender for the billionaire of telecommunications Patrick Drahi, who asked to remain anonymous discussing a delicate issue, these owners are ready to burn a business on the ground instead of doing so.
Recent Drahi maneuvers, the magnate of the Irish packaging Paul Couls and others to maintain control of their companies, or ate their assets of the crown-Jewish, after the extensions of the debt, the perceptions of the debt conversations can give the owners an advantage. As Donald Trump tariffs increase the risk of economic butcher shop worldwide, debt investors will prepare for more softeners with European founders.
Altice France Sa de Drahi is the prominent example of a non -investment business that threw greatly in the age of cheap money, and then crashed into the earth as interest rates remained higher. He pushed the creditors to the point of promising that they would never support AnoThere billionaire after a series of aggressive movements, such as changing money from the provisions beyond the reach of the Debtolders.
And yet, Drahi has signed an agreement with the holes or the € 24 billion of Altice France ($ 27.2 billion) or the debt that will see it maintain a control participation of 55% without putting a penny or yours. In exchange for a 45% action and some cash, creditors will rule out € 8.6 billion loans. Obtaining a large part of equity is a kind of victory, but unknown lenders had to take 8% losses as part of the agreement.
The tycoon did not need to follow some of his threats, which proved to be effective to bring angry thugs to the table.
He is not the only one who will emerge bloodied but will not take over. Coulon is still locked in creditors conversations, where he intends to keep the wait or his participation in Ardagh Metal Packaging, his prize asset, again without touching any fresh equity. The AF Jcnnechts, a rich Swedish family, are injecting € 25 million of their cash into the group of cosmetics oriflame holding ag after diverting the assets, and are being rewarded by maintaining total property, even when the bond holders are the havolios are the havoldes are the havoldes.
The so -called responsibility management exercises have been withdrawn in the US. During the last year, since private capital owners exploit the Lax Laxa legal wing in the terms of the debt to force through the company’s refinancing agreements at the expense of existing lenders. European purchase companies have been more recent or alienating creditors, but the continent is unusual in which many of its companies with garbage classification are founded. And happily they have surpassed in the American Play Book.
“The European LME we have seen have been family or personal property businesses with less brand to protect,” says Adam Gallagher, partner and head of law firm Simpson Tacher & Bartlett, the restructuring team in London, referring to their credibility.
An Ardagh spokesman declined to comment. Altice and Oriflame spokesmen did not respond to comments requests.
Carving the classics
In a classic debt training, creditors take over whether shareholders do not contribute. But the emergence of the LME in the United States, and its imitation for some of the largest companies in Europe, mean that the rules are being torn.
As part of the Drahi and Coulson restructuring agreements, they have been negotiating, the only new money that has sacrificed comes from the reintegration of the assets that had diverted from the reach of the creditors.
Drahi will contribute to some of the 1.55 billion euros he obtained from the sale of a subsidiary, average altice and other units. These had been part of a transaction that tactics, a famous famous tactic, the famous clothing retailer J Crew debt agreements almost a decade ago, where Allice said that the assets were not tied by the new debt agreements and could be used.
Such movements, or simply their threat, were a powerful negotiation tool. Allice had several of those weapons, and the time in their favor without great noturities, and the creditors knew it. A consensual agreement was reached, where Drahi emerged with billions of newly created capital value. A key SOP for Debtholders was a blockade in its ability to repeat the trick.
“It is a new equity that shareholders put on the table now, since what they are admitting is the flexibility of the document,” says Jordan Sauer, managing director of Beach Point Capital Management. “That has become trade: you gave creditors a stricter documentation, which sometimes also implies putting the assets that had changed to credit again.”
In the case of Ardagh, it was for a complete drop -down last year. He raised more than $ 1 billion of new Global Apollo Debts Management Inc., using collateral assets, including its participation in the Ardagh metal packaging.
Now, as part of a more complete restructuring, Ardagh is looking to raise cash to pay Apollo and move his metal participation to a new entity controlled by Coulson. Unharmed creditors would obtain the less loved glass business in exchange for canceling debts, in addition to some minority capital in the metal arm. The conversations are ongoing with most of their insured and unharmed creditors and, although the terms could still change, the negotiations have advanced towards an agreement in that regard.
As with Drahi, Coulson would be putting new money.
“Without contributing to any new value beyond the value of the business of the metals that Ardagh already possessed, experts will obtain 80% of Ardagh’s most valuable assets, all to Ardagh and his creditors,” they fond to Arbeds Arini and Canyon, who have among the greatest exhibitions to their unured bonds, they say in a lawsuit filed in New York against the company and Courson.
The transaction, they added, “will allow Coulson and entities that he owns or controls, as the shareholders who hire outside the money, obtain the most valuable assets in the Ardagh group.” And all this, “in exchange for nothing.”
Ardagh responded in a statement that “firmly believes that the complaint has no merit and intends to defend itself vigorously against procedures.”
Eternal oriflame
In another part of Europe, Oriflame and the AF Jchnch Family Agreement followed a similar path. First they exploited the legal wing to get four subsidiaries from the reach of Bondwors and used it as leverage to squeeze generous terms. The creditors rushed quickly and the negotiations soon began, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The possible transaction allowed shareholders to keep the entire company, while recovering the assets they had diverted. Bondwarden directed by BLANTYRE CAPITAL AND TRESIDOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT will rule out most of his debt. Unlike Drahi and Coulson, AF Jcnchics increases € 25 million of their own money, while creditors are paying € 25 million fresh debts.
“Shareholders have used the threat of drop -down and new money such as carrot and stay to convey the proposal,” wrote Healing Rodríguez, head of European special situations at Creditsights Ltd., in a client’s note.
Another difference between these refinancing led by individuals and the most typical LME is that creditors within the same class have a large leg equally treated. In the world of division and conquest of the refinancing of the USA, great lenders to enter exclusive conversations with an owner for the arrest of those who are left out.
For some, the pure unpredictability of individual owners and their willingness to fly standard techniques of LME as a way of putting creditors online, makes the result more difficult to guess in Europe.
“What we have so far is that the weakness in the documentation, which is as bad here as in the United States, if not worse, sometimes it is a very strong negotiation position,” recently Rudi Singh, founder of Aplomberg, recently said specialist in Pod. “But it is much harder to know when you have a check partner.”
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Posted on April 14, 2025