Bloomberg and CNN reported on the potential impact the pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 shot could have. In the wake of the announcement, stay-at-home company stocks bounced, while travel company stocks fell as investors worried about the potential long-term impact. [Bloomberg; April 13, 2021 & CNN; April 14, 2021]
The Wall Street Journal reported on an intensifying bidding war for Hertz as previously-outbid investors returned to the table with a counteroffer for the car rental company in chapter 11 with a valuation of $6.2 billion. The revised bid by Knighthead Capital Management LLC and Certares Management LLC challenges a restructuring offer that Hertz accepted earlier this month, backed by Centerbridge Partners LP, Warburg Pincus LLC and Dundon Capital Partners LLC valuing the company at about $5.5 billion. [WSJ; April 16, 2021]
Following the death of Bernie Madoff last week, the WSJ reported on the continued fallout from his Ponzi scheme. The Madoff liquidation case, overseen by three bankruptcy judges since it began, could easily continue for years especially after the Supreme Court last year gave the court-appointed trustee the green light to pursue the return of some Ponzi scheme proceeds that passed between foreign institutions. As of February, the trustee had recovered or reached settlements to recover about $14.4 billion of the estimated $17.5 billion of client money. [WSJ; April 14, 2021]
Per reporting from Bloomberg, distressed debt investors are continuing to have a tough time finding opportunities in the United States, where access to cash has enabled more and more companies to borrow their way out of trouble. Chapter 11 filings slowed to just four in the last week, and the total amount of troubled debt outstanding fell below $90 billion from almost $1 trillion at the height of the pandemic. [Bloomberg; April 13, 2021]