Turnaround Management Association Honors Kirkland & Ellis LLP with "Transaction of the Year" Award
The Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association honored Kirkland & Ellis LLP for its management of the Chapter 11 reorganization of Conseco Inc. at the TMA’s Senior Executive Forum and Reception held in October.
The Kirkland team received “Transaction of the Year” honors for its successful representation of Conseco Inc. and its subsidiaries through a complex and challenging Chapter 11 process last year. The annual event was held Oct. 20, 2004, at Chicago’s Standard Club.
“We are honored to receive recognition from a highly respected organization such as TMA,” said Anup Sathy, a partner in Kirkland’s restructuring, insolvency, workout and bankruptcy practice group. “Conseco’s successful restructuring was the result of the hard work of a talented team of attorneys who worked tirelessly to bring this company out of Chapter 11 in a matter of months. This award is a tribute to the team’s efforts.”
The team included bankruptcy partners James H.M. Sprayregen, Richard L. Wynne, Anne Marrs Huber, Shirley S. Cho, and Sathy, as well as associates Roger J. Higgins, and Ross M. Kwasteniet.
The bankruptcy filing of Conseco Inc. has been reported as the third largest Chapter 11 filing in U.S. history. As part of the restructuring, after conducting a lengthy and spirited auction, Kirkland received court approval for the sale of the assets of the finance subsidiaries for more than $1 billion in cash -- then reported to be the largest cash-only sale in Chapter 11 history. The successful sale of the finance subsidiaries allowed the insurance holding companies to confirm a restructuring plan that reduced their debt by approximately $5 billion. The reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2003.
The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association has 900 members comprised of turnaround practitioners, attorneys, accountants, consultants, investors, lenders, venture capitalists, appraisers and liquidators. The association aims to cultivate and promote the corporate renewal and change management profession, as well as to encourage, foster and promote the interests of those having a common interest in the profession of turnaround management.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,000-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex bankruptcy, corporate and tax, litigation, intellectual property and workout, and insolvency matters. The Firm has offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, San Francisco, and Washington.