A soft real estate market continues to drive
In the first quarter, 46 companies filed for Chapter 11 reorganization or Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, up 44 percent from the same period last year, according to the latest data compiled by investment bank Greene Holcomb & Fisher LLC.
A Chapter 11 filing allows a business to reorganize while receiving protection from creditors.
The Phoenix office of
“That’s a huge increase compared to 2008,” said Jack Hebert, who heads the firm’s bankruptcy department.
The real estate market declined even further in fourth-quarter 2008. Because the
On the M&A front,
GHF Managing Director Paul Javnick said financing M&A deals is tough right now. It’s difficult to get credit for deals of $500 million or more, which rarely occur in midsize markets such as
Small deals also are getting squeezed.
To exacerbate matters, consumer services, high-end restaurants and some other sectors are struggling to survive as consumers watch their spending.
“Those kinds of deals are really struggling,” said Javnick, who splits his time between
“There’s life in the market,” he said, but “it’s sector by sector.”
Scottsdale-based
“We’re actually seeing a pretty strong market right now,” said Guy Downing, co-founder and managing director.
Strategic buys typically are carried out by well-capitalized companies in the same or a complementary industry. Many of these players have been chased out of deals or priced out of the market during the past three to four years, but conditions have shifted in their favor.
“We think ’09 is going to be relatively strong,” Downing said.
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