William Blair consistently delivers trusted and respected financial advice. Our comprehensive restructuring expertise enables us to identify and implement innovative solutions to complex out-of-court and in-court engagements. Seamlessly integrated with the other core competencies of our global investment banking firm – mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and strategic advisory – the Special Situations & Restructuring Group achieves optimal outcomes under compressed timelines.
Our clients actively seek us out to provide a broad offering of financial advisory and restructuring services, including:
- Strategic alternatives assessment
- Advising on the sale or purchase of distressed companies or divisions
- Restructuring existing debt and equity
- Recapitalizations
- Formulation, negotiation, and implementation of out-of-court restructuring plans and prepackaged, prenegotiated, and chapter 11 plans of reorganization
- Procuring, structuring, and negotiating debtor-in-possession and exit financing
- Cross-border/international restructurings
- Capital raises
- Exchange/tender offers and consent solicitations
- Valuation and liquidation analyses
- Expert valuation and related testimony
- Fairness opinions
We advise a wide range of clients, including:
- Public and private companies
- Sellers and purchasers of distressed businesses and assets
- Private equity sponsors
- Secured lenders
- Debtor-in-possession and exit financing lenders
- Shareholders
- Hedge funds
- Key secured and unsecured creditors
- Bondholders
- Official and ad hoc creditor and equity committees
- Boards of directors and special committees
Since 2007, members of the Special Situations & Restructuring Group have advised on more than 50 engagements and have restructured more than $60 billion of total liabilities. Recent restructuring engagements in the restaurant, consumer, specialty retail, building products, financial services, leisure, energy, and airline sectors illustrate the breadth of our practice. We have significant large-cap experience such as Calpine Generating Company, LLC (ad hoc noteholder committee), BI-LO, LLC (debtor), and Tribune Company (debtor) as well as mid-cap company advisory experience, including Giordano’s Enterprises, Inc., International Garden Products, Inc., Gulf Fleet Holdings, Inc., and NEC Holdings Corp.