Notable (Goldman Sachs, Intelsat, Linn Energy & Goodwill Stores)


Goldman Sachs. Everyone loves to hate on them. Oh, and Venezuela ($GS). Pssst: there are several others in the trade too.

Intelsat ($I). There goes that Softbank thing. The merger didn't get enough creditor support

Linn Energy. The recently restructured company offloaded its Jonah and Pinedale fields and surrounding area to Jonah Energy, a platform formed by TPG Capital. For $580mm. 

LunchShort it. And the casual dining spots that serve it, e.g., Ruby Tuesday Inc. ($RT)

Ocwen Financial. Nothing like the "Strippers Defense" to ward off scrutiny ($OCN).

Retail. File this one under unintended consequences. It appears that Goodwill - yes, that Goodwill - is also falling victim to online shopping and is committed to downsizing its brick-and-mortar footprint and restructuring some operations. Someone on this newsletter should think about this as a potential pro bono project.

Interesting Restructuring News

  • Financial ServicesOcwen Financial Corp. got pummeled this week with fresh allegations.
  • Pharma/Hedge Fund Hotels. We enjoyed this summary of Bill Ackman's involvement in Valeant. And this piece discussing Marc Cohodes' short-strategy vis-a-vis Concordia International.

  • Fast Forward. With Agent Provocateur (amusing write-up below, if we do say so ourselves) going bankrupt and L Brands (Victoria's Secret) reporting dogsh*t numbers last quarter, we figured we'd look at the lingerie space for a hot second and we found a lot of action. And it ain't good for the incumbents. It'll be interesting to see if Aerie's omnichannel strategy pays off - bold move to double down on physical stores these days - when Amazon looms right around the corner.
  • Rewind I: Groupon. As we foreshadowed might happen, Groupon dropped this bomb on Good Friday while markets were closed - a banal and cynical PR trick to try and avoid a bad news cycle. 
  • Rewind II: Sun Capital Partners. We have been beating up on Sun Capital Partners as its retail portfolio just gets uglier and uglier (see now Marsh Supermarkets, which has apparently hired Hilco to explore strategic options, and Vince, which got itself a recent downgrade). Perhaps CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners have gotten the memo; the two PE firms appear to be exploring a sale of BJ's Wholesale Club which, in turn, probably means that any plans of an IPO are on hold.