TMA Europe

Friday 29 January 2016 | TMA Europe | www.tma-europe.org

Private Equity Buying into CEE on Agenda for TMA Europe's Event in Prague

Private equity buying into distressed businesses in Central and Eastern Europe will be debated by leading restructuring experts at a conference in Prague in March.

TMA Europe is hosting its third event focusing on the economic environment in Eastern Europe at The Czech National Bank on Wednesday, 16 March.

The conference follows two very successful events held at the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, with last year's attended by more than 120 delegates.

This year's conference is called Investment and Innovation - Restructuring and Reform in CEE, and will see speeches and panels focusing on the specific challenges and opportunities for turnaround professionals working in this region.

One of the key issues the conference will address is private equity buying into distressed businesses in the region. Panellists due to debate this topic include Lukas Fecker, Director of Innovation Brain in Switzerland; Ioana Necula, Director General of International Leasing in Romania; Jonathan Nighswander, Director of EMSACAP in Austria; Edward Keller, Partner of Dentons in Hungary; and Josh Silver, Partner of APartners Capital in the UK.

There will be a second panel debate looking at non-performing loans including restructuring of the banks and cleaning up the balance sheets.

The conference's keynote speech will be given by Ralf Zeitlberger, of Erste Bank, Austria, who will focus on the impact of EU banking regulations on the ability of the banks to support distressed businesses and also reflect on the consolidation and restructuring going on in the banking sector.

Greg Fine, CEO of TMA Global, will give an opening speech and there will also be networking opportunities before and after the speeches and panels.

The event, which runs from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., is free to attend but pre-registration is essential. To find out more and to reserve your place see http://www.tma-europe.org/events/east-europe-conference-2016.asp or email mcaruana@tma-europe.org.

TMA Europe Conference, Rome, Italy. 9-10 June 2016

The 2016 TMA Europe conference in Rome, Italy, entitled "Increasing Performance Through Turnaround Culture and Values - a Focus on SMEs", is a must for all turnaround practitioners, investors, and other professionals that are involved in distressed environments.

The speakers and participants will discuss the economic business environment in Europe and highlight the importance of SMEs in Europe, focusing on lucrative areas of potential investment for the entire global investment community.

There will also be several panels that debate various turnaround topics, insolvency, and turnaround legislation in various European countries from north to south. In addition to some real life examples, we will also discuss NPLs and debate the issues that affect the whole of Europe.

The conference venue will be the beautiful and luxurious Grand Hotel Plaza in Rome, which was inaugurated in 1865 and quickly became famous as a meeting point for travellers, aristocrats, ambassadors, artists, political dignitaries, and rulers. Situated in the centre of the city, the hotel is walking distance to all of the most beautiful and impressive monuments and major sights of Rome.

To book your room at the conference hotel, please email Margaret Croxson at IHC Venues for details of room rates.

2016 Turnaround of the Year Awards - Call for Entries

Entries have opened for TMA Europe's prestigious annual Turnaround of the Year Awards.

The awards, which are now in their fifth year, aim to celebrate the achievements of the individual or team of TMA turnaround professionals who have orchestrated the most successful recovery of a struggling company.

There are two categories, one for a small company whose revenue at the onset of the turnaround was less than 100 million Euros, and one for a large company whose revenue at the onset of the turnaround was more than 100 million Euros.

Submissions for the awards are assessed on the main actions taken to bring about around the turnaround, the issues that arose and how they were overcome, as well as the eventual outcome.

The winners of the awards will be announced at TMA Europe's pre conference banquet being held this year at the Grand Hotel Plaza in Rome, Italy, on 9 June 2016.

The deadline for entries is Friday, 29 April 2016.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Template

For more information please contact mcaruana@tma-europe.org.

Interview with our Incoming President, Jukka-Pekka Joensuu

How did you get into turnaround?

My first turnaround case was turning around a ski resort and hotel. I was a 26-year-old law school graduate with no fear whatsoever in solving big balance sheet issues and operational turnaround in a hospitality business. I started to think that this would be fun and would provide enough adrenaline for an extreme skier.

What is your greatest achievement in turnaround?

Playing a vital part in turnarounds in the telecom sector in early 2000 with the companies Saunalahti and Song Networks was a great experience with successful results. I also have some sad stories I can tell.

What do you love/find hardest about the job?

I love the multi-dimensional aspect of the challenges facing turnarounds. The hardest part is that some situations are quite challenging. They can wear you out both physically and mentally, as people can act in very odd ways in challenging situations.

Why did you want to become involved in EACTP?

Education, continuous learning, and being part of an organisation with tremendously skilled professionals. All this gives me a lot of energy to go about my day-to-day work and enables me to learn more, which keeps up my drive and passion.

TMA UK Kicks-Off New Year with Ever-Popular Annual Review/Preview

TMA UK kicked off the new year of events in London on Wednesday 13 January with yet another successful Annual Review/Preview hosted by sponsors Dentons.

The event, which attracted over 70 attendees, brought together a panel of experts from the turnaround and corporate recovery market to give their view on the main features of their market sector during the last year and their forecast for market trends during the coming year.

The panel was comprised of Ian Fox, a partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency practice at Dentons; Alan Gullan, an independent director and veteran of financial and operational restructurings; Chris Hart, commercial director at BNP Paribas with over 25 years' experience in financial services; Rob Lewis, who leads PwC's mid-market Business Recovery Services practice; Simon Morgan, founder of the SIA Group with particular expertise in the valuation of aviation assets and contentious insolvency matters; and Jason Webster, a seasoned banking professional at Lloyds Bank heading up the Banking Group Business Support function. Byron Nurse of Dentons introduced and moderated the panel.

Each speaker shared their insight on last year's market trends from the perspective of their own discipline and provided a forecast for 2016. Amongst a wide variety of topics, panellists discussed activity in the UK being driven by the forthcoming living wage, regulatory changes, the effect of commodities prices generally (and oil & gas specifically) as well as renewables (especially solar). With the EU referendum looming, the effect of "Brexit" as an issue delaying investment and transactions as the year progresses was also debated.

DDC Financial group is proud to announce its upcoming Distressed Investments Forum taking place at the Hilton Canary Wharf in London 2016 on March 9th & 10th. Industry experts will share their views on current market dynamics and shed light on investment opportunities along with potential pitfalls and future challenges in a highly fragmented transaction landscape.

For TMA members we are glad to offer a 30% discount off the standard two-day ticket price. Please use promo code TMA30 on the on-line registration form HERE. For more information please contact Clare Smith at +420 222 535 535 or email: clare.smith@ddc-financial.com.

Distressed Investing Conference in Las Vegas

Looking to do more business in North America? This is the conference for you to attend. As an international member you save $250 off of registration! This year's planning committee has secured a top-rate line up of industry experts to speak at this year's conference.

Opening Keynote: Tom Petrie, CEO of Petrie Partners

Keynote Session: Glenn August, CEO and Founder of Oak Hill Advisors

Colin Adams, Distressed and Special Situations Analytics, Morgan Stanley
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Moderator)
Alan Carr, Drivetrain Advisors, Ltd.

Scott Eisenberg, Managing Director, GSO Capital Partners

Paul Halpern, Chief Investment Officer, Versa Capital Management, LLC

David Hilty, Managing Director, Houlihan Lokey (Moderator)
David Hollander, Managing Partner, Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC

Mark Hootnick, Managing Director, Millstein & Co.
Darren Klein, Associate - Insolvency & Restructuring, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Moderator)
Mark Kronfeld, Partner, Plymouth Lane Capital Management, LLC
Ryan McCarthy, Partner & Co-Founder, Aurora Resurgence

Scott Mell, CTP, Senior Vice President, McKinsey Recovery and Transformation Services
David Miller, Portfolio Manager, Elliott Management Corp.
David Murgio, Harbinger Capital Management
Jack Neumark, Managing Director, Fortress Investment Group, Credit Funds Business
Dan Pombo, Head of Restructuring, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brian A. Selmo, Partner, FPA
Glenn E. Siegel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (Moderator)
Kaj Vazales, Managing Director, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.
Colin Wilson-Murphy, Bowery Investment Management, LLC
Sam Xu, Director, Oil & Gas Investment Banking, CohnReznick Capital Markets

For more information on the conference features, such as the Turnaround Capital Forum, please visit tmadistressedinvesting.org and register today.

Submit TMA Europe Newsletter Articles

Submit articles for consideration for the next TMA Europe Newsletter to Mandy Caruana by Wednesday 10 February 2016. Suggested topics include TMA Europe events, activities, or announcements.