Inside job
Two BlackRock credit desks line up against each other over Aston Martin.
Good morning.
Oh, to be this huge. In restructuring, the big ‘alternatives’ firms meeting themselves across the table is almost routine. The equity arm on one side, the debt team ending up on the other.
What’s rare about the Aston Martin situation Bloomberg brings us this morning is that BlackRock has managed to rival itself on the same credit side. Its bond funds have joined a creditor pact binding them to act in concert in debt talks, while HPS, the private credit shop BlackRock bought a year ago, is among those courting the carmaker with fresh money, via a drop-down that would shift assets beyond the other lenders’ reach.
Now we get to watch BlackRock’s famously independent desks bargain against each other. Will holding both hands help the house extract a little more? Surely not.
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