Fine art as collateral presents unique challenges for asset-based lenders. Title and authenticity are just two of the complex issues that make art loans more of a risk. Stephen Brodie represents lenders who have ventured into the world of fine art and suggests ways that lenders can protect themselves.
Witness the roller coaster ride of the American Apparel bankruptcy through the lens of ABF Journal illustrator Jerry Gonzalez.
Unitranche facilities are growing in popularity. They require less paperwork, so borrowers find them more economical and quicker to close. The unitranche is an agreement among lenders without the framework of the UCC or the Bankruptcy Code. Blank Rome’s Danielle Garcia and Alyssa Keon explain how unitranche facilities differ from intercreditor agreements and point out ways to create a more effective agreement among lenders.
Franchising offers financial service entrepreneurs the same benefits that food outlets, hotels and car repair shops currently enjoy. For an upfront investment, the franchisee receives support from the franchisor, association with a trusted brand and expanded business opportunities. David Banfield explains how factors and invoice discounters now use franchises, rather than branches, to provide clients with a local presence.
Even lenders who exercise the most thorough due diligence sometimes have to exit their loans. Turnaround specialist Ken Mann offers tips to help lenders make smart decisions in 2017.
Deep in the heart of Texas, the ABL world is heating up. Despite reports that the landscape is flat and banks have become reluctant bedfellows, Chris Capriotti and two members from the JPMorgan ABL team moved to Texas Capital Bank recently to ramp up its ABL division and transform a regional bank into a national player.
For the sixth straight year, fewer bankruptcy cases were filed. American Bankruptcy Institute Executive Director Sam Gerdano and Consultant Ed Flynn provide a more nuanced look at the patterns that emerged in 2016 and predicts a quiet year ahead.
It’s no secret that brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to stay in business. Stephen Selbst examines the factors that have created the current retail crisis. He explains why Chapter 11 does not effectively give retailers an opportunity to restructure and suggests avenues that lenders can take to protect themselves from exposure.
American Apparel isn’t the only youth-oriented retailer that sought Chapter 11 protection in 2016, but its story is the most dramatic. Its first bankruptcy proceedings included a failed battle by ousted Founder and CEO Dov Charney to regain control. Six months after exiting Chapter 11, the company was back in bankruptcy with $30 million DIP financing from Encina Business Capital and a $66 million stalking horse bid from Canadian underwear manufacturer, Gildan. Is this American Apparel’s last stand?
As the senior lender, your rights to recoup your funds should be top priority during bankruptcy proceedings. But those pesky subordinate lenders often get in the way. Rocco I. Debitetto explains the best way to craft an intercreditor agreement that forces subordinate lenders to “sit down, shut up and mind their own business” until you get paid.