Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors [Hardcover]

Stephen G. Moyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

Recently, reorganizations, restructurings, and bankruptcies have replaced IPOs as the common financial vehicle of the times. However, these distressed companies can still provide an avenue for profitable investing. This eagerly anticipated new reference helps guide you through this treacherous landscape in order to master the multi-move chess-like strategies required to achieve financially advantageous results for your portfolio. It is the most up-to-date and comprehensive book on the market to deal with the myriad of issues surrounding a distressed company.

Providing theoretical and practical insight, Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors presents a conceptual, but not overly technical, outline of the financial and bankruptcy law context in which restructurings take place. The book covers the broader financial environment of the reorganization and the basic process of investment analysis and investment strategies. The author uses numerous real-world examples and case studies to emphasize important concepts and critical issues.

The developments that have created these extraordinary investment opportunities have also created tremendous demand for professionals with experience and knowledge in the restructuring process. Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors addresses the complete knowledge needs of investors and professionals in the burgeoning world of financially distressed companies. It is perfect for bankruptcy departments of law firms, restructuring advisory groups, turnaround consulting firms, and reorganization and distressed securities departments of investment banks.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve Moyer is currently a Director with Tennenbaum Capital Partners, a private investment and hedge fund complex with approximately $3.7 billion in capital. At Tennenbaum he focuses on analyzing and managing investments in firms in financial distress. Previously he was the Director of Research for Imperial Capital, a boutique investment bank with expertise in investments in distressed securities. He has over 15 years of investment analysis experience and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: J. Ross Publishing (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932159185
• ISBN-13: 978-1932159189
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable insights, useful commentary, and professionally written., October 21, 2005

By 

Atherton Reader (Atherton, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors (Hardcover)

Like many of us, perhaps you've owned some bonds that have fallen into junk status or worse, distress/bankruptcy. In most cases, did you throw up your arms either selling at a loss or confused by smallprint mail solicitations? Stephen Moyer is an absolute pro and de-mystifies what some may think of as a blackbox only understood by investment specialists, asset pirates, and/or bankruptcy lawyers.

Conversely, if you are a professional and seeking to augment your understanding, Moyer provides insightful commentary on areas like negotiation leverage points, key area to control, legal bounds of control, pre & post-bankruptcy valuation approaches, and comparisons to real deals done recently in the marketplace. Most of his examples are from 1998-2003, and he tries to use contemporary issues to highlight arguments. Unfortunately, you will not find the most recent Bankruptcy Code reforms which commenced Oct 17, 2005. For instance, he states on page 77 that management can "...extend the [bankruptcy] exclusivity period virtually indefinitely...", which today is essentially limited to 18 months. Although a shortcoming to the book, any professional investor would have access to materials to become up-to-date on the recent reforms.

Moyer's CV reads long: Stanford Law, Chicago MBA, CFA, CPA, and Drexel Lambert heritage. Obviously, he knows what he is talking about. His writing interests do seem to be lawyer-ly; for instance, he spends an inordinate amount of time explaining issues around confidentiality agreements and duties. But, I appreciated his clear and concise style and sentences. No arrogance in his style nor is he trying to sell his current firm.

Excellent book. Strongly recommend despite the price.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complete Introduction, November 1, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors (Hardcover)

The premise of this book is really quite simple.

Identify securities (bonds, stocks or whatever) from companies that are in trouble. Buy these securities when other investors are ignoring or even selling them. Then when the company gets turned around, you can make a fortune. What you don't want to do is buy these securities only to see the companies go out of business so that your securities are now completely worthless.

As you might guess from the title, this book is about how to analyze distressed companies that offer this potential investment path. It covers virtually every aspect of finding such companies, determining if the proposed investment is feasible, explains the differences in the company going through one of the various bankruptcy procedures, the legal and financial due diligence issues, and more. The final result is a set of basic investment strategies and analytical techniques, complete with case studies and referrences to numerous real-world examples to emphasize important concepts and critical issues.

Along with the book is a companion web site that offers additional information, checklists, sample letters, and more.

This book is a complete introduction to this new and emerging field.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reference in the art from a thought leader in the practice, December 11, 2004

By 

Marc Sherman (Manhattan Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors (Hardcover)

Steve offers a comprehensive yet pragmatic treatment of a multifaceted subject. Illustrative case examples that emphasize the complex interplay of market forces, financial analysis, economics, and judicial process that dictate success or failure in distressed investing.
Written as an integrated text book by a single author, Distressed Debt Analysis follows a single thought-thread on the subject, avoiding the disjointed "patchwork quilt" products typically produced by editors collecting essays from individual subject matter experts (aka Fabozzi and Altman).