Financial Distress and Restructuring Models

Abstract

In recent years, the literature of financial distress has been enriched by the development of formal models. This paper develops a synthesis of that formal analysis, linking it to related finance literature and corporate strategies for distressed financial restructuring. Several key assumptions generate different results which predict the effects of financial distress on investment efficiency and restructuring strategy. Central to these strategies are the recontracting arrangements proposed between owners, creditors and other relevant stakeholders. The critical factors in the alternative models are: (1) the term structure of the firm’s debt, (2) the role of the seniority of debts, (3) the effects of exchange offers, (4) the effects of an automatic stay on debt payments, and (5) the role of alternative voting rules.