German restructurings: Kirkland's Christian Halasz on StaRUG's evolution

Danielle Saba, senior reporter of Debtwire North America sat down with Jay Weinberger, managing director in Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Restructuring Group, for this week's podcast, Debtwired!Jay is industry agnostic, but has done a great deal of work for gaming companies and their lenders. He admits there has not been much in the way of restructuring among casinos over the past five years, and he talks about the creative possibilities that could have taken shape if the large casinos had access to today’s technology to execute a creative drop down or deal away. He also delves into regional players, with some trying to selling assets or taking permanent residence and the pitfalls of not having owned properties. Jay shines a spotlight on a UK-based company with old asset and a shiny growing asset and how that could get transactional ideas flowing among lenders in the near term.Tune in to hear about what's ahead for global gaming companies in the near future.

Kirkland & Ellis Partner Christian Halasz sits down with Debtwire Europe's Senior Legal Analyst Dawn Grocock to discuss the evolution of Germany's StaRUG process, recognition hurdles, forum shopping to the UK and some issues arising in current German situations. (Recorded Feb. 27, 2026)

Robert "Bob" Del Genio, turnaround specialist at FTI Consulting has worked on special situations like Dean Foods, City Brewing and Hostess Brands.Today, he joins us at Debtwired to discuss what's challenges branded label and beverage companies are facing in the year ahead.

In this episode of Debtwired!, host Amelia Weitzman speaks with Matthew Harvey, Global Head of Middle Market Direct Lending, about the evolution and maturation of the direct lending market since the GFC.They explore improving M&A activity, underwriting discipline amid AI-driven disruption in software, the growing opportunity in non-sponsored middle-market lending and how direct lenders can stay resilient and competitive through the next credit cycle.

In this episode of Debtwired!, host Amelia Weitzman speaks with Matthew Harvey, Head of Direct Lending at PGIM, about the evolution and maturation of the direct lending market since the GFC. They explore improving M&A activity, underwriting discipline amid AI-driven disruption in software, the growing opportunity in non-sponsored middle-market lending and how direct lenders can stay resilient and competitive through the next credit cycle.

In this episode of Debtwired!, host Amelia Weitzman speaks with Matthew Harvey, Head of Direct Lending at PGIM, about the evolution and maturation of the direct lending market since the GFC.They explore improving M&A activity, underwriting discipline amid AI-driven disruption in software, the growing opportunity in non-sponsored middle-market lending and how direct lenders can stay resilient and competitive through the next credit cycle.

On this legal-focused episode of Debtwired, Andy Serbe sits down with Stephen Silverman of Gibson Dunn to talk about ad hoc group formation trends in Chapter 11, the role they play in a plan and negotiation-focused environment, and more.

In this episode, Debtwire Europe's Francesca Ricciardi sits down with Arcmont Asset Management's Mattis Poetter to discuss what 2026 has in store for the European private credit market.From expected pricing dynamics and deployment trends to emerging private-credit segments and competition.

In this episode of the Debtwired Podcast, host Madalina Iacob is joined by Wariz Anifowoshe, Head of Restructuring at Fortress Investment Group, Kevin Fortunato, Portfolio Manager at Benefit Street Partners, and Scott Greenberg, Global Head of Restructuring at Gibson Dunn. A central theme of the discussion is AI-driven disruption, particularly in software, and how investors are positioning defensively while selectively hunting for opportunities. Panelists emphasize that AI risk is already reshaping maturity extensions, underwriting assumptions, and liability management decisions, especially for businesses facing rapid technological change. The group also explores what’s driving the unprecedented speed at which loans are trading down from CLO technicals, group-formation risk, and growing familiarity with liability management exercises (LMEs). Speakers expect both more LMEs and an uptick in Chapter 11 filings this year, including failed LMEs from prior vintages where balance sheets were fixed, but businesses were not. They unpack why LMEs are neither inherently successes nor failures, why every situation is bespoke, and how sponsors and not creditors typically set these processes in motion. Finally, the speakers conclude that cooperation agreements (co-ops) remain an essential and widely used tool for collective creditor action, and there has been no meaningful slowdown in their use since Optimum filed an anti-co-op lawsuit against its creditors.

In this podcast Debtwire Europe's Hossein Dabiri and South Square's Matthew Abraham discuss all the key takeaways from a very interesting Part 26A restructuring plan promoted by crypto mining company Argo Blockchain.