Category: 2011

Southern District Establishes Standards for ‘Good Faith’ Participation in Court-Ordered Mediation: Part II

The A.T. Reynolds & Sons, Inc. decision reverses the bankruptcy court’s order holding the secured lender in the underlying bankruptcy proceeding, and its counsel, in contempt for failing to mediate in good faith and imposing sanctions upon them. The decision not only vindicates the lender and its counsel for its “no pay” position taken at the mediation, but also articulates a clear and objective standard for parties’ future “good faith” participation in a court-ordered mediation. This is the conclusion of this two-part article.

Industry Outlook: Factoring Withstands the Test of Time

With all the economic uncertainty in the market and traditional credit struggling to return to normal levels, one thing is certain: Factoring will remain a solution to help small- and mid-sized businesses with their cash needs. Factoring has a long history in the world of credit and has stood the test of time when it comes to financing a growing business.

Healthy or Unhealthy: Defining the Risk Assessment Environment

The environments in which risk analysis takes place can be healthy or unhealthy. The latter is generally the case when corporate culture becomes the controlling factor in all decision making, rejecting objective analysis from outside the bubble and requiring the same questionable risk framework even in the face of new unknown factors. No one wants to make mistakes, but those may well be inevitable unless analysis is undertaken with a healthy respect for the unknown of new markets.

Growth Through Expansion: Lessons Learned and Pitfalls to Avoid

In today’s economic environment, maintaining market share and revenue are oftentimes a daunting challenge. Growing revenue — even more so. If you conclude that the acquisition route is a good mechanism to achieve this growth, proceed cautiously! With the proper planning, third-party involvement, due diligence and integration, you should be able to make it a successful effort.

Strategic Planning Mishaps to Avoid (Part 2 of 2)

In Part 1 of this two-part article, Ken Naglewski of Seabiscuit Partners rendered a definition of strategy, identified the core elements of the strategic planning process and provided a perspective on strategic planning best practices. In Part 2, Naglewski will provide insights into why strategies fail and will highlight potential strategic planning mishaps CEOs need to recognize and avoid.

Finding the Right Mix of Financing and Flexibility With Hybrid Loans

While traditional financing options are well suited to most companies, they don’t fit the needs of every business. As a result, lenders are increasingly providing financial products that offer new levels of flexibility. This rising tide of creative financing vehicles is giving companies more options. The advantage to businesses is clear: They can enhance their working and growth capital to fuel business plans and help maintain a competitive edge. Enter the hybrid loan.

Putting Their Heads Together… CIT Corporate Finance Executives Discuss the State of ABL, Cash-Flow Lending

To gain their perspective on the current state of the asset-based and cash-flow lending markets, ABF Journal tapped the collective wisdom of Pete Connolly and Jim Hudak, co-heads of CIT’s Corporate Finance group. The two discuss their outlook for middle-market borrowers, key borrower sectors and the lessons learned during the Great Recession.