WELCOME TO THE SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY DISTRESS INVESTING CLASS

This seminar was created twenty years ago as a means of educating Whitman School students in the practice and principles of Distress Investing. From the beginning, Martin J. Whitman was intimately involved in the teaching and organization of the seminar. He enjoyed immensely participating and teaching in this class.

This year’s seminar promises presentations of great caliber. Professor Gregory Germain will cover the intricacies of bankruptcy law, Professor Fernando Diz will introduce you to distress investing and guide you through the minefield of tricks and traps that you must be aware of if you want to become an investor in this area. He will talk about the meaning and causes of financial distress, and give you five truths of distress investing that you must take to heart if you wish to understand reorganizations. He will also walk you over the five different businesses of distress investing and teach you about credit and distress analysis while educating you about how to read credit agreements and indentures in search for investment opportunities as well as enabling you to perform business valuations and understanding the workout process and how it is reflected in a Plan of Reorganization. On Tuesday afternoon, Michael Derchin, a seasoned veteran of the airline industry, will talk to you about the airline business, how it has changed, reorganized, faced several crises in the last decades and how it is likely to fare coming out of the COVID-19 crisis. On Wednesday afternoon, Neil Rudolph will be talking about a very interesting Bankruptcy case: Nortel Networks. Although it happened quite a few years ago, the case is an eye opener on how to value intangible assets.

Your evaluation will be performed through the completion of one quiz and four cases. The Quiz will be administered through Blackboard and Cases will have to be submitted via this Web page.