Two CRO mandates that both need money, why the work has exploded, how you actually make money buying distressed businesses, and the week I cancelled my own meeting.

This Week

  • Two CRO mandates, both needing financing. One tied to a CCAA with a DIP loan, one that may never see a filing but needs money either way
  • Winding up a small business after a distressed sale of assets — we came in too late, and the bank is letting us run the wind up instead of appointing a receiver
  • Over $400 million of deals looked at at Interim Credit in the last several months, and multiple deals in front of Sapphire
  • Why the explosion in activity? Partly the economy. Mostly access to capital, and capacity

Lesson Learned: In Distressed, You Make Your Money on the Buy

  • The margin is always in the buy. Don’t pay for intended improvements. PE does add value, but it never pays for a bad purchase price
  • It’s always culture. If a business is underperforming the problem starts there, and the impediments to change have to be priced at acquisition
  • Change requires cash. The real risk to return is the post acquisition burn, which is the whole reason I started Interim Credit Corp
  • From Panel 3 at Insolvency Insider’s Distressed Private Capital Conference, Toronto, November 12

Struggles: I Cancelled My Own Meeting

  • Two presenters dropped and I called off the October 20 Inner Circle
  • We don’t waste anybody’s time, so cancelling beat running a thin session. Apologies to all

The Inner Circle: Deals & Capital

  • Free, private and live on Zoom, every two weeks at 3 o’clock Eastern. Next session is November 3, where I’ll show members how I’ve been using AI to lift our capacity. That part isn’t going public
  • Free but not open — you register once and we review every request

Interim Credit Corp sponsors Bay Street for a Cause in Toronto on Thursday, November 5.

#Turnaround #PrivateCredit #Restructuring #SmallBusiness #Leadership #SinclairRange #WinningMomentum