Mesirow Financial Receives "Large Transaction of the Year" Award from Turnaround Management Association for Enesco Sale
http://www.mesirowfinancial.com/newsroom/pressreleases/mar08_tma_award.jsp
CHICAGO, March 12, 2008 — Mesirow Financial today announced that the firm has been honored with the prestigious "Large Transaction of the Year" award by the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Chicago/Midwest Chapter for its efforts with Enesco Group, Inc ("Enesco"). The award is in recognition of the financial advisory services provided by Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC ("MFC") and Mesirow Financial's Corporate Investment Banking group's leadership in Enesco's subsequent §363 sale. It also recognizes the efforts of Enesco's legal counsels Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP ("Skadden Arps") and Shaw Gussis Fishman Glantz Wolfson & Towbin LLC ("Shaw Gussis")."
The TMA Chicago/Midwest Chapter's "Large Transaction of the Year" award is presented to a distressed financial transaction that if not executed, would have most likely resulted in the failure of the business and lower recoveries to creditors and clearly surpassed alternatives in recovery and value capture.
Within less than a year, Mesirow Financial, along with Enesco's legal counsels, stabilized a declining company, satisfied its fatigued lenders and skillfully facilitated the sale of Enesco through a bankruptcy filing. The end result boasts several accomplishments, including the preservation of Enesco's operations and jobs, avoidance of a prolonged Chapter 11 case, a higher payment of the bank debt than would have been realized in a liquidation, and the assumption of almost all of the unsecured debt.
"The commitment of our team was extraordinary, and I'm very proud to be honored by the TMA," said Kevin A. Krakora, senior managing director of MFC. Jeffrey A. Golman, vice chairman of Mesirow Financial and head of the Corporate Investment Banking group added, "Our firm was able to apply our multi-disciplinary expertise in a way that maximized benefits for our client and other stakeholders. It is precisely what makes Mesirow Financial unique in the industry."
Enesco is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of licenses and proprietary branded giftware, including major names such as Bratz, Lilliput Lane, Pooh & Friends and Disney, among others. The company's distressed situation accelerated in recent years as the company experienced myriad issues that challenged the survival of the company, including significantly declining sales and increased costs, disruptions from a difficult transition to a third party logistics provider, dramatic turnover in its CEO and CFO ranks, a downturn in the giftware industry, defaults under the company's loans and the inability to refinance its loans. By spring of 2006, Enesco's board of directors sought the legal advice of Skadden Arps and hired MFC as financial advisors."
Immediately upon being engaged, MFC assisted Enesco with cash flow forecasts, cost reduction efforts and other financial support and analyses to stabilize Enesco's liquidity position and funding needs. In summer of 2006, Enesco hired the Investment Banking group of Mesirow Financial to seek potential replacement financing and to analyze strategic alternatives, including a sale of the business. Enesco, with the support of MFC and the Corporate Investment Banking team, determined that a sale of the company was the best option. Through an expansive due diligence process, a preliminary deal structure was negotiated with Tinicum Capital Partners ("Tinicum"). Unfortunately, at about this same time, Enesco's lenders restricted funding for Enesco's operations causing additional liquidity issues for the company. As a result, Enesco filed for protection under Chapter 11 on January 12, 2008."
Through the combined efforts of the Corporate Investment Banking team, MFC, Skadden Arps and Shaw Gussis, Enesco obtained approval from the bankruptcy court to sell Enesco to Tinicum preserving the ongoing operations and resulting in high recoveries for the lenders and unsecured creditors. The transaction was completed on February 15, 2007."
The Enesco transaction case study will be presented by the award winners at the TMA's Breakfast Forum on March 14, 2008. For more information, please contact Sue Fischer, assistant administrator of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the TMA, at 815-469-2935."
A full-service financial advisory services provider, Mesirow Financial Consulting provides corporate recovery, litigation and investigative services, interim management, valuation services, operations and performance improvement and other consulting services (Interim management services are offered through Mesirow Financial Interim Management, LLC)."
Mesirow Financial's Corporate Investment Banking professionals focus exclusively on the middle-market, serving financial sponsors and corporate clients. Services include: merger advisory, exclusive sales and divestitures, buy-side advisory, §363 sales/restructurings, fairness/solvency opinions, special committee representation and private placements.
Mesirow Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1937, it is an independent, employee-owned firm with $31.4 billion in assets under management and more than 1,100 employees in 30 locations across the country and in London. With expertise in Investment Management, Investment Services, Insurance Services, Investment Banking, Consulting and Real Estate, Mesirow Financial strives to meet the financial needs of institutions, public sector entities, corporations and individuals and was named one of Chicago's Best Places to Work by Crain's Chicago Business in 2008. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, the firm posted $451 million in revenue, with more than $238 million in capital. For more information about Mesirow Financial, visit its Web site at www.mesirowfinancial.com."
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