Mark Dalton, Alex Sorokin and Neil Wessan have launched Halsey Lane Holdings to assist lenders-turned-owners of distressed companies in managing and maximising the value of their post-restructuring equity investments.
Halsey Lane combines the principals’ private equity, turnaround, restructuring and capital markets expertise with an offering that is solely focused on maximising recoveries for unnatural owners of equity exchanged for debt as a result of the restructuring process.
“The combination of the credit crisis and the deepest recession since World War II have caused many highly leveraged situations created during the private equity boom of 2004-2007 to default, creating a significant number of unnatural owners – hedge funds, banks, CLOs and CDOs, mutual funds, insurance companies and other lenders – that did not intend to end up owning equity in these companies,” says Dalton. “Halsey Lane applies a proven, process-driven approach to maximizing the enterprise value of these companies by improving operating results and then designing and implementing the optimal exit strategy in conjunction with our clients.”
Halsey Lane acts as the company’s sponsor on behalf of its new owners, assuming responsibility for the long-term management of their portfolio company investment in the same way that a private equity firm would.
“In doing so, our objectives are completely aligned with those of the owners,” adds Sorokin. “Halsey Lane acts as a ‘quarterback’ for the new owners following the restructuring process, becoming engaged on a detailed, day-to-day level with management and outside professional firms to oversee the company’s business plan, monitor its performance, facilitate an exit process and focus on any significant issues that might arise – engaging far more intensively than would a traditional board of directors. Ideally, we will serve on the board of directors of portfolio companies on behalf of our clients, but this is not a requirement to retain Halsey Lane.”
