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CHAPTER

30
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Financial Distress
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Executive Summary
This chapter discusses financial distress, private workouts, and bankruptcy. A firm that defaults on a required payment may be forced to liquidate its assets. More often, a defaulting firm will reorganize. Financial restructuring involves replacing old financial claims with new ones and takes place with private workouts or legal bankruptcy.
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Chapter Outline
30.1 What is Financial Distress? 30.2 What Happens in Financial Distress? 30.3 Bankruptcy Liquidation and Reorganization 30.4 Private Workout or Bankruptcy: Which is Best? 30.5 Prepackaged Bankruptcy 30.6 Summary and Conclusions
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30.1 What is Financial Distress?

A situation where a firms operating cash flows are not sufficient to satisfy current obligations and the firm is forced to take corrective action. Financial distress may lead a firm to default on a contract, and it may involve financial restructuring between the firm, its creditors, and its equity investors.

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Insolvency
Stock-base insolvency; the value of the firms assets is less than the value of the debt. Solvent firm Insolvent firm
Debt Debt Equity Debt

Assets Equity

Assets

Note the negative equity

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Insolvency
Flow-base insolvency occurs when the firms cash flows are insufficient to cover contractually required payments.
$
Cash flow shortfall

Contractual obligations Firm cash flow Insolvency

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time

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Largest U.S. Bankruptcies

Firm Conseco Inc. Worldcom Inc. Enron Corp. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Liabilities (in $ millions) $56,639.30 45,984.00 31,237.00 25,717.00 Date December 2002 July 2002 December 2001 April 2001

UAL Corporation

22,164.00

December 2001

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30.2 What Happens in Financial Distress?

Financial distress does not usually result in the firms death. Firms deal with distress by
Selling major assets. Merging with another firm. Reducing capital spending and research and development. Issuing new securities. Negotiating with banks and other creditors. Exchanging debt for equity. Filing for bankruptcy.
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What Happens in Financial Distress

No financial restructuring
49%

Financial distress
51% 47%

Private workout

Financial restructuring
53% 83%

Reorganize and emerge

Legal bankruptcy Chapter 11

Source: Karen H. Wruck, Financial Distress: Reorganization and Organizational Efficiency, Journal of Financial Economics 27 (1990), Figure 2. See also Stuart C. Gilson; Kose John, and Larry N.P. Lang, Troubled Debt Restructurings: An Empirical Study of Private Reorganization in Firms in Defaults, Journal of Financial Economics 27 (1990); and Lawrence A. Weiss, Bankruptcy Resolution: Direct Costs and Violation of Priority Claims, Journal of Financial Economics 27 (1990).

7%

Merge with another firm

10%

Liquidation

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Responses to Financial Distress

Think of the two sides of the balance sheet. Asset Restructuring:
Selling major assets. Merging with another firm. Reducing capital spending and R&D spending.

Financial Restructuring:
Issuing new securities. Negotiating with banks and other creditors. Exchanging debt for equity. Filing for bankruptcy.
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30.3 Bankruptcy Liquidation and Reorganization

Firms that cannot meet their obligations have two choices: liquidation or reorganization. Liquidation (Chapter 7) means termination of the firm as a going concern.
It involves selling the assets of the firm for salvage value. The proceeds, net of transactions costs, are distributed to creditors in order of priority.

Reorganization (Chapter 11) is the option of keeping the firm a going concern.
Reorganization sometimes involves issuing new securities to replace old ones.

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Bankruptcy Liquidation
Straight liquidation under Chapter 7 usually involves:
1. A petition is filed in a federal court. The debtor firm could

file a voluntary petition or the creditors could file an involuntary petition against the firm. 2. A trustee-in-bankruptcy is elected by the creditors to take over the assets of the debtor firm. The trustee will attempt to liquidate the firms assets. 3. After the assets are sold, after payment of the costs of administration, money is distributed to the creditors. 4. If any money is left over, the shareholders get it.

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Bankruptcy Liquidation: Priority of Claims

The distribution of the proceeds of liquidation occurs according to the following priority:
1. 2. 3.

4.
5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Administration expenses associated with liquidation. Unsecured claims arising after the filing of an involuntary bankruptcy petition. Wages earned within 90 days before the filing date, not to exceed $2,000 per claimant. Contributions to employee benefit plans arising with 180 days before the filing date. Consumer claims, not exceeding $900. Tax claims. Secured and unsecured creditors claims. Preferred stockholders claims. Common stockholders claims.
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APR Example
Suppose the B.O. Drug Co. decides to liquidate under Chapter 7. Assume that the liquidation value is $2.7 million. Bonds worth $1.5 million are secured by a mortgage on the corporate headquarters building, which is sold for $1 million. $200,000 is used to cover administrative costs and other claimsafter paying this, $2.5 million is available to pay creditors. The only problem is that the unpaid debt is $4 million.
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APR Example
Under APR, all creditors are paid before shareholders, and the mortgage bondholders are first in line. The trustee proposes the following distribution:
Type of Claim Prior Claim Cash Received Under Liquidation
$1,500,000 $1,000,000

Mortgage Bonds Subordinated Debentures Common Stock Total

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$1,500,000 $2,500,000

$10,000,000 $14,000,000

$ 0 $2,500,000

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Bankruptcy Reorganization: Chapter 11

A typical sequence:
1. A voluntary petition or an involuntary petition is filed.
2. A federal judge either approves or denies the petition. 3. In most cases the debtor continues to run the business. 4. The firm is given 120 days to submit a reorganization plan. 5. Creditors and shareholders are divided into classes. Requires

only approval by 1/2 of creditors owning 2/3 of outstanding debt 6. After acceptance by the creditors, the plan is confirmed by the court. 7. Payments in cash, property, and securities are made to creditors and shareholders.
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Reorganization Example
Suppose the B.O. Drug Co. decides to reorganize under Chapter 11. Assume that the going concern value is $3 million and its balance sheet is shown.
Assets $3,000,000 Liabilities: Mortgage bonds Subordinated debentures Equity
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$1,500,000 $2,500,000 $1,000,000

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Reorganization Example
The firm has proposed the following reorganization plan:
Old Security Old Claim New Claim Under Reorganization
$1,500,000

Mortgage bonds

$1,500,000

Subordinated debentures
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$2,500,000

$1,000,000

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Reorganization Example
And a distribution of new securities under a new claim with the reorganization plan:
Old Security Mortgage bonds New Claim Under Reorganization $1,000,000 in 9% subordinated debentures $500,000 in 11% subordinated debentures $1,000,000 in 8% preferred stock $500,000 in common stock
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Subordinated debentures
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Absolute Priority Rule in Practice

The APR states that senior claims are fully satisfied before junior claims receive anything
Deviations from APR
Equityholders Expectation: No payout Reality: Payout in 81% of cases Expectation: Full payout after secured creditors Reality: Violation in 78% of cases Expectation: Full payout Reality: Full payout in 92% of cases
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Unsecured creditors

Secured creditors

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Reasons for APR Violations

Creditors want to avoid the expense of litigation. Debtors are given a 120-day window of opportunity to cause delay and harm value. Managers often own equity and demand to be compensated. They are in charge for at least the next 120 days. Bankruptcy judges like consensual plans (they dont clog the court calendar with appeals) and pressure parties to compromise.
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Vulture (not Venture) Capital

Vultures are money managers that specialize in the securities of distressed and defaulted companies. There are between 50 and 60 institution vulture specialists, actively managing over $25 billion. Distressed debt investors have target annual rates of return of 2025 percent. Although some years are better than others, the overall annual rate of return has been about 12 percentsimilar to junk bonds but less than the stock market.
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30.4 Private Workout or Bankruptcy: Which is Best?

Both formal bankruptcy and private workouts involve exchanging new financial claims for old financial claims. Usually senior debt is replaced with junior debt and debt is replaced with equity. When they work, private workouts are better than a formal bankruptcy. Complex capital structures and lack of information make private workouts less likely.
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30.4 Private Workout or Bankruptcy: Which is Best?

Advantages of Bankruptcy
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. New credit is available - "debtor in possession" or "DIP" debt. Discontinued accrual of interest on pre-bankruptcy unsecured debt. An automatic stay provision. Tax advantages. Requires only approval by 1/2 of creditors owning 2/3 of outstanding debt. A long and expensive process. Judges are required to approve major business decisions. Distraction to management. Hold out by stockholders.

Disadvantages of Bankruptcy
1. 2. 3. 4.

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30.5 Prepackaged Bankruptcy

Prepackaged Bankruptcy is a combination of a private workout and legal bankruptcy. The firm and most of its creditors agree to private reorganization outside the formal bankruptcy. After the private reorganization is put together (prepackaged) the firm files a formal bankruptcy under Chapter 11). The main benefit is that it forces holdouts to accept a bankruptcy reorganization. Offers many of the advantages of a formal bankruptcy, but is more efficient.
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30.6 Summary and Conclusions

Financial distress is a situation where a firms operating cash flow is not sufficient to cover contractual obligations. Financial restructuring can be accomplished with a private workout or formal bankruptcy.

Corporate bankruptcy involves Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 11 reorganization. An essential feature of the U.S. Bankruptcy code is the absolute priority rule (APR).
A hybrid of a private workout and formal bankruptcy is prepackaged bankruptcy.

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