The Vulture Investors: The Winners and Losers of the Great American Bankruptcy Feeding Frenzy [Paperback]

Hilary Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993

Every day, it seems, the headlines in America trumpet another famous company declaring bankruptcy, and "vulture investors" are having a field day profiting off the hard times of these sinking businesses. Hilary Rosenberg presents anecdotes of big-time investors - including Carl Icahn, Paul Kazarian and Marty Whitman - and reveals their intricate dealings and strategies. The book features 75 interviews with "vulture investors" - a clever group of scavengers who began feasting on the corporate wreckage of the 1980s - who hold nothing back in their explanations of how they operate. Rosenberg also tells the complex stories of recent well-known bankruptcies, such as Trump Taj Mahal, Southland Corporation and Allegheny International. The book investigates the new breed of investors, and explains how they are influencing the bankruptcy policy in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a tour de force of punchy business writing, Institutional Investor senior editor Rosenberg dissects a little-known but increasingly common high-stakes financial game: preying on companies in distress. Operating in a $400 billion "debt market," financiers like Paul Kazarian and Marty Whitman snap up an ailing firm's bonds and bank loans at a discount, then participate in the ensuing bankruptcy or other reorganization process, which usually results in their holdings substantially increasing in value. Case histories illuminate the investors' methods, introduce the field's key players and give blow-by-blow accounts of major corporate upheavals at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Coleco Toys, New Hampshire's Seabrook atomic power plant, Donald Trump's casinos and Allegheny International. The author relates these intricate, suspenseful narratives in a clear, lively style that always instructs and often amuses.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

At last, a book on bankruptcy that explains basic concepts before beginning the broader discussion of deals and dealmakers. The author anticipated all the questions this reviewer had and answered them where they were raised. Rosenberg has written about an arcane area of finance, and the book reads like a good suspense novel. The "winners" of the subtitle are the investors themselves, the "losers" the shareholders (and usually management) of the original company and, more often than not, the American taxpayer. Recommended for academic and public libraries holding James B. Stewart's Den of Thieves ( LJ 10/1/91) and for readers of Stewart's book, as a glimpse into the aftermath of poor management decisions or of gorging at the financial trough.
- Alex Hartmann, Bloomsburg Univ. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306489
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306488
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 1, 2003

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Vulture Investors, Revised and Updated (Hardcover)

I found this book to be exactly what I hoped for. I like to read business stories. The author's goal was to teach the reader about investing in bankrupt companies and the method used was with detailed narratives of past deals. This was perfect for what I wanted.

The book went into great detail about the hierarchy of security claims and how they work in bankruptcy. The examples showed how the investor classes work with and against each other in bankruptcy and the roles the b/k judge and attorneys played. With many different narratives the reader is able to see different outcomes and the extreme risks and rewards involved in this type investing.

The book's main focus was on the personalities involved in buying distressed debt and then trying to influence the b/k process mainly through the courts but sometimes in prepackaged b/ks.

In summary, I learned a lot and enjoyed the stories also. The only caveat I would have is that the book was originally written in the early 90s so there are not new examples although the author did give summary updates on the companies and investors up through 1998.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart, January 13, 2003

By 

Frank DeRose (Fremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Vulture Investors, Revised and Updated (Hardcover)

The book covers the practice of investing in the securities of distressed/bankrupt companies. Topics include: investing in distressed debt; the reorganization process under Chapter 11; the contests for control between conflicting classes/interests in the reorganization process.

But, the book doesn't cover these topics in mere textbook fashion. Rather, it introduces us to some of the most famous vulture investors of all time and provides exciting narratives of their significant investment successes and failures. The cast of characters is fascinating. One ends up with a very good feel for the type of personality needed to work in this field: financial/legal wizard who combines the ferocity and tenacity of a wolverine with the haggling skills of a hat merchant from the garment district.

One of the most famous of the vulture investors is Marty Whitman, whose book "Value Investing: A Balanced Approach" forms an invaluable companion text to this book. "Value Investing" provides the theoretical underpinnings; "Vulture Investors" shows the theories in action.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!!!!!, August 16, 2006

By 

R. Christensen - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Vulture Investors, Revised and Updated (Hardcover)

What a great read! To say that this book is Educational & Entertaining does not do it justice. The author takes you into a world of high finance and even higher stakes as companies hang in the balance & investors fight for profits.

The author does a great job of taking a very, very complex business and breaking it down so that most readers can understand the world of "Vulture Investors".