Multinational Conglomerate Holding Company
Comprehensive Restructuring / Reorganization / Strategy Advisory
Client: Conglomerate holding company with 7 disparate businesses, formed as a combination of divisions, subsidiaries, partnerships/JVs, wholly owned entities (“Client”), operating in the following areas
The Problem: Client had accumulated a large group of disparate entities operating independently and without any cohesive operational, strategic or financial integration or strategy. The group had become burdened with significant amounts of debts, liabilities and operational problems.
The Solution: Engage in comprehensive operational and financial restructuring, provide professional executive coaching, and conduct strategic advisory services.
Key Solutions / Deal Highlights
- Technology services consulting (several lines)
- General food service technology consulting
- Fitness marketing
- U.S. hospitality conference platform
- European hospitality conference platform
- Publishing
The Problem: Client had accumulated a large group of disparate entities operating independently and without any cohesive operational, strategic or financial integration or strategy. The group had become burdened with significant amounts of debts, liabilities and operational problems.
The Solution: Engage in comprehensive operational and financial restructuring, provide professional executive coaching, and conduct strategic advisory services.
Key Solutions / Deal Highlights
- Reorganized legal/operational structure-streamlined worldwide entity structure, including closing or consolidating legal entities, bringing current/closing down entities, re-aligning structures to match legal, financial and operational risk profiles, created dashboard mapping system for overall organizational structure.
- Human resource reorganization-created 30/60/90 day action plans for employees; re-aligned daily activities away from administration to revenue generation and value add activities; changed work-flow process to reduce choke points and failure points.
- 1st mortgage debt restructuring – negotiated 12 month forbearance with no principal or interest payments; restructured reduced overall balance; converted from floating rate to fixed rate in historically low interest rate environment; reduced monthly amortization by 14%.
- Master financial model – constructed master financial model showing aggregate of all entities, revenue and expense items, liabilities and assets; engaged in cost/benefit analysis for finite action plan of restructuring; created pro forma projections.
- Trust creation / management – worked with accountants to create series of trusts to optimize accounting/legal flow of funds
- Technology transformation – managed conversion of existing outsourced desktop technology platform to more efficient and self-managed platform, reaping substantial cost savings and achieving significantly higher levels of operational control.
- Website / domain entity registration rationalization – mapped over 44 existing domain names, email hosting sites and website domain hosting accounts with disparate vendors at various locations; rationalized providers and system of ongoing management.
- U.S. hospitality conference platform – structured and negotiated the buyout of U.S. hospitality conference platform after JV partnership interest had been sold to 3rd party; achieved significant reduction in price (roughly 5x) and structure, removing fixed price mechanism and allowing purchase price to be paid out of existing deposits held; drafted and negotiated legal agreements; wrote and managed press release process.
- European hospitality conference platform – managed the unwind of JV with European partner.
- Fitness marketing company
- Unsecured but personally guaranteed debt restructuring – joined 2 separate bank credits; negotiated 3 quarter forbearance period; structured and negotiated omnibus agreement whereby 3rd party purchased debt at 70% discount; equity owners forfeited shares and formed 3 year non-compete/forbearance agreements; drafted and negotiated release and note assignment agreements.
- Partner litigation settlement – negotiated 2-year ongoing litigation settlement among partners
- Vendor litigation settlement – negotiated 15 month ongoing key vendor partner litigation settlement through mediation in 60 days
- Orchestrated and managed the Chapter 7 conversion process of liability-laden consulting subsidiary
- Secured and personally guaranteed/senior asset lien debt restructuring – negotiated 12 month forbearance period with no interim payments, structured 3rd party debt purchase at 18% of par; drafted and negotiated release, note assignment agreement and lien assignment/release agreements.
- Accounting / back office reorganization – restructured financial reporting processes and structure, including combining individual reporting entities and creating aggregate flow-down dashboard allowing for daily fiscal management globally
- Tax – cleaned up deficiencies, late filings, abandoned entities still in various stages of reporting, closed accounts with various tax authorities; managed payroll audit by tax authority.
- Moth-balled publishing business
- Advisory board membership – advise and negotiate agreement for CEO to join an outside advisory board.
- Vendor renegotiations
- Insurance – rationalized vendors and coverage, achieving substantial cost savings and ability to properly manage
- Leases – renegotiated real estate leases
- Technology – rationalized services and vendors
- Telecom – removed redundancies and right-sized services
- Auto leases – restructured payment plans
- Revolving lines of credit – shut down multiple existing lines of credit
- Launched new consulting subsidiary
- Unsecured credits – engaged in debt workout, settlement and/or renegotiation with numerous unsecured credit providers