Programme


08:00 - 08:30
Registration and Tea/Coffee


08:30 - 08:45
Welcome Address
Craig Abouchar, Merrill Lynch
Karsten Moller, SIFMA


08:45 - 09:20
A Macro Look at the Global Leveraged Credit Markets: The Strategists’ View

Moderators:
Bob Janjuah, The Royal Bank of Scotland
Kit Juckes, The Royal Bank of Scotland


09:20 - 10:00
Sub-Prime Contagion, LBO Indigestion and Outlook for Leveraged Credit

  • Sub-prime and CLOs: exploring the links
  • What is the state of the CLO market and the CLO pipeline?
  • What is the outlook for unsyndicated LBO debt and the LBO pipeline?
  • Senior, second lien and mezzanine debt: what are the demand conditions?
  • Can sponsors contribute to a market recovery?

Moderator:
Edward Eyerman, Fitch Ratings

Panellists:
Robin Doumar, Park Square Capital Partners
Matt King, Citi
Richard Munn, Oak Hill Advisors
David Slade, Credit Suisse


10:00 - 10:40
Assessing the Impact of Market Disruption on the Future of the Leveraged Finance Product?

  • What is the state of the carry trade for high yield?
  • Has the asset class been reassessed by hedge funds, long-only, crossover investors?
  • What is the outlook for the high yield pipeline?
  • How do credit fundamentals and secondary market value impact?
  • What is the outlook for primary market prices, structures and covenants?

Moderator:
Gareth Noonan, Merrill Lynch

Panellist:
David Allen, GoldenTree Asset Management
Joel Feldmann, Bank of America
Tim Hall, Calyon


10:40 - 10:55
Networking Refreshment Break


10:55 - 11:35
Investing in Distressed LBO Debt: the Hidden Dangers

  • Will sponsors commence a dialogue this time around?
  • How to inject new money to protect your investment and not compromise your position?
  • Unraveling LBO capital structures: how will the last generation of intercreditor agreements hold up?
  • How will the pre-pack sale threat affect valuation of subordinated debt?
  • Managing effective financial due diligence in the private equity context

Moderator:
James Roome, Bingham McCutchen

Panellists:
Derek Jackson, Alcentra
Peter Marshall, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin
Cecilia McAnulty, Centaurus Capital
Martin Tonnby, MKM Longboat Capital Advisors LLP


11:35 - 12:15
Insolvency Reform: Is the UK Market Ready?

  • Cramdown, court-approved valuation, enforcement stays, DIP financing: why do we need these?
  • What are the pros and cons of reform?
  • How will the market be impacted?
  • What about pan-European reform?

Moderator:
Barry Russell, Bingham McCutchen

Panellists:
Christopher Hall, Latham & Watkins
Dan Hamilton, White & Case
Lynn Hiestand, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Adam Plainer, Jones Day


12:15 - 12:45
Lunch


12:45 - 13:45
Keynote Address: "Addressing Global Challenges with Financial Innovation"
Michael Milken, Milken Institute


13:45 - 14:25
Handling Public vs. Private Information in the Leveraged Credit Markets

  • How are compliance officers dealing with the challenges presented by convergence in the leveraged credit markets?
  • How are banks structuring their public and private sides today?
  • Discussing the results of the First Annual EHYA Bank Survey on Public/Private Information
  • What are the biggest information challenges in origination, syndication and distribution?
  • How does trading in loan only CDS fit within the public/private divide?
  • Do existing guidelines address the current market?

Moderators:
Christopher Bates, Clifford Chance
Kelly Gromoll, BNP Paribas

Panellists:
Katharine Domanski, Citi
Stephen Elliott, Calyon
Robert Lepone, Morgan Stanley


14:25 - 15:05
Has the Power Shifted: A Buyside Look at Critical Issues

  • What's the future of the ultimate bull instrument, the callable FRN?
  • Is covenant lite dead forever?
  • Pages Jaunes – the continuing public private conflict – selective disclosure or do confis work?
  • Are shadow ratings the product of an immature market or legitimate structural characteristics?
  • Has the power shifted for borrower disclosure of loan documents?
  • Does Europe need a central repository for disclosure documents?
  • Do trustees do their job?

Moderator:
Craig Abouchar, Merrill Lynch

Panellists:
Debra Anderson, The Blackstone Group
Sara Halbard, Intermediate Capital Group
Leland Hart, Lehman Brothers
Chris Munro, JPMorgan


15:05 - 15:20
Networking Refreshment Break


15:20 - 16:00
Bond/Loan Convergence: Challenges for the Legal Practitioner

  • PIK loans and repackagings: issues arising from the increasing convergence of the loan and
    bonds products
  • Disclosure considerations applicable to bond repurchases
  • Structuring and syndicating equity strips and equity bridges
  • Flexible capital structures: all-bond deals, toggle notes and covenant-lite loans
  • Enforceability of US/UK split law documents
  • Auditor liability caps: developments in Europe and the United States

Moderator:
George Stephanakis, Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Panellists:
Richard Ely, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Jocelyn Seitzman, Latham & Watkins
Nick Shaw, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Tom Siebens, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy


16:00 - 16:50
Emerging Markets

  • Taking stock of convergence: To what extent has there been convergence between EM and HY deals in terms of covenant packages and investor bases? Will it continue post-credit crunch? Is there an end to "covenant-incoherence" in the emerging markets?
  • What new and emerging markets jurisdictions have we seen in high yield in the last 18 months?
  • Beyond telecoms: What industries are emerging market high yield issuers coming from?
  • Post-credit crunch, will HY technology be deployed in order to get non-investment grade issuers to market in the emerging markets?
  • How are investors reacting to the challenges of investing in uncharted emerging markets and how are investors targeted?
  • Emerging market HY structures: How have the challenges of new and emerging market jurisdictions intervened to affect offering structures? How have local regulatory requirements and local legal issues shaped structural considerations in these markets?
  • Local legal considerations: How are local legal considerations in these markets interacting with New York law-governed HY bonds on security and guarantee issues, intercreditor considerations, enforcement and insolvency issues? Is sharia-compliance an issue in certain of these new emerging markets in HY bond offerings?
  • The next frontier: Post-market correction, will we see LBO-style high yield financings coming to market in the emerging markets?

Moderator:
Cecil Quillen, Linklaters

Panellists:
Mark Bergman, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Peter Charles, Citi
Julien Gurcel, HSBC
Robert Mathews, White & Case
Stuart Stanley, Invesco
Matthew Strassberg, Mid Europa Partners


16:50 - 17:30
The Private Equity Perspective

  • What are the sponsors' responses to the current market dynamics?
  • How will structures change?
  • How will prices be impacted?
  • How does the threat of regulation impact their businesses?
  • Bad PR: hysteria or valid?

Moderator:
Eric Capp, The Royal Bank of Scotland

Panellists:
Marc Boughton, CVC Capital Partners
Guy Davies, Permira
Heinz Holsten, CCMP Capital Advisors
Javed Khan, Blackstone
Bastian Lueken, TPG

17:30 - 18:30
Cocktail Reception
sponsored by

Gavin Anderson