News for the Week of 3/12/17

in
  • Commercial Real Estate Backed Loans. Looks like J.C. Penney store closures could impair $30b of loans.
  • European Elections & CDS. Investors perceive greater redenomination risk in France and Germany.
  • European Retail. It seems the bloody retail phenomenon isn't exclusive to US retailers. Jack Wolfskin, a German producer of outdoor wear and equipment, is in the midst of a restructuring of its $365mm of debt. The Blackstone Group is the company's sponsor and PJT Partners is shopping the company. Meanwhile, Jaeger, a UK-based clothier is also on the block, with an administration within the bounds of possibility. AlixPartners is advising the company.
  • High Yield. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Foresight Energy and Community Health Systems all issued new high yield debt this past week and what screams of a massive yield grab. No, we're not joking: this actually happened. And demand was so strong that upsizing took place. We repeat: "demand was so strong that upsizing took place."
  • Oil & Gas Fallout. Like we said last week, we're crushing Ramen so it's hard to feel sorry for a man pulling in $2mm and a $50k/month consulting fee, but its interesting to see some of the effects of the energy downturn - here, relating to Energy XXI's former CEO. 
  • Power. The Westinghouse saga got juicier with Weil and the Japanese Prime Minister basically saying put up or shut up. Meanwhile, FirstEnergy is involved in shenanigans and Exelon is now getting active. 
  • Private Equity History Lesson. A review of J.Crew's take-private transaction and private equity's affinity for dividends, long-term viability be-damned. 
  • Puerto Rico. Sh*t is getting real and people are starting to clamor for bankruptcy.
  • Television. Netflix is going after unscripted reality TV. Choice quote: "The competition should be scared out of their minds. These guys are monsters — they're coming in to play and play hard."
  • Uber. Expansion in India seems to be predicated upon a mountain of driver debt.
  • Rewind I: Five weeks ago we reported the following: "The Finish Line Inc. announced its sale of Jack Rabbit Sports this week (66 locations) for undisclosed terms. "Undisclosed terms" = GU gels and a jock-strap." Apparently, we were too generous with our characterization of the financial consideration. Something tells us this won't stop Peter J. Soloman from dutifully and opportunistically noting the tombstone on its pitch materials for the next big retail mandate.  See, also, this.
  • Rewind II: Looks like Avaya Inc. has a potential buyer in publicly-traded Extreme Networks Inc. for its networking business (for $100mm).
  • Rewind III: Store closures. Add Staples to the list (70 locations) and Signet Jewelers (165 stores). And here is one report on the failure of BCBG.
  • Chart of the Week: 
  • Chart of the Week II: 

News for the Week of 01/22/17

in
  • Distressed Investing. A short discussion of opportunities in post-reorg equities.
  • Fraud. With lofty valuations and lofty P/E ratios come lofty expectations. And fraud. Here's hoping this is confined only to tech. 
  • Hospitals. They're going away.
  • Malls. Simon Properties and General Growth Properties take a hit from The Limited Brands bankruptcy, which is only valuable on an IP basis. But don't worry: pop-up stores and pickup centers will ease the pain. Wait, what?
  • Mexico. Pemex is selling a baseball field to sure up liquidity. Yes, you read that right.
  • Retail & Retail Analytics. Some analytics around retail. Meanwhile, in the face of talk about renewed IPO activity in '17, Claire's Stores unsurprisingly abandoned its IPO, further calling into question Apollo's $3b take-private transaction. And then there's BCBG trainwreck. But hope is not lost for physical retail: a number of e-commerce retailers are increasing their physical presence, including Bonobos, Rent the Runway and others.
  • Rewind I: More on the Dallas pension fiasco.
  • Rewind II: New developments with Takata pummel the stock.
  • Chart of the Week: