"This is now an unprecedented time as far as how bad things have gotten," said Scott Peltz, managing director of RSM McGladrey, a consulting firm that helps turn around troubled companies.
The number of business bankruptcy filings rose sharply in 2008, with 31 percent more companies looking to liquidate -- instead of just restructure their debt -- in the third quarter than in the first.
They have little choice. Many companies are loaded down with debt amassed in the days of easy money. Servicing that debt is harder because of falling revenue. Lenders, facing their own troubles, are not as eager to refinance. And the buyers that can afford an acquisition right now are few and far between.
Circuit City, for instance, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November and tried to strike a deal with lenders while it also looked for a buyer. On Friday, just over two months later, it said that both of those efforts failed, and that it would close its remaining 567 locations, putting more than 30,000 people out of work.
~ more... ~
No comments:
Post a Comment