The Halftime Report: Not a Barnburner, But Plenty of First-Half Action

This year was set up for disappointment in restructuring activity, given high levels of Chapter 11 filings and debt defaults in 2023 — especially in 1H23 — as well as the resurgence of leverage credit issuance since late 2023 that has allowed many distressed companies to address near-term debt maturities or liquidity challenges without a formal restructuring event. Restructuring activity in 2024 is almost certain to come up short of last year’s high bar; the only question is by how much.

As it turns out, not by much — at least through the first half of this year. It was a busy first-half, despite the occasional snide remark from Petition that restructuring advisors have had ample time to shave a couple of strokes off their golf handicaps in recent months. But it hasn’t been crazy busy, and perhaps that has set off some discussion among various professionals about how to best describe the current state of activity in our market and the likelihood of a more subdued second half. Considering the torrid performance of financial markets and huge volumes of speculative-grade debt issuance in 1H24, the restructuring community should be more than satisfied with what it got, but enthusiasm seems to be lacking.

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