Arent Fox Wins Turnaround Atlas Award for Chapter 11 Restructuring of the Year

At the time Cengage Learning filed for protection in 2013, it was the largest business bankruptcy in the country. Presented annually by the Global M&A Network, the Turnaround Atlas Awards is an important industry honor that goes to the “best value-creating restructuring and turnaround transactions.” Arent Fox was selected from a group of finalists that included Alvarez & Marsal, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Kirkland & Ellis, Lazard, and Ocean Tomo.
 
An unsecured creditors committee for Cengage Learning chose Mr. Silfen and a team from Arent Fox — led by Leah M. Eisenberg — out of more than 30 law firms. The $5.8 billion Cengage matter presented a complex blend of copyright and intellectual property issues, which often intermingle when companies seek to sell, monetize or restructure IP assets in distressed situations. Drawing on Arent Fox’s internationally recognized capabilities at the intersection of bankruptcy and intellectual property law, Mr. Silfen managed a team of New York and Washington-based lawyers through the restructuring, which was finalized in April 2014. The group of Arent Fox attorneys representing Cengage Learning included partners George P. Angelich, Michael S. Cryan, and Jackson David Toof.
 
Mr. Silfen is nationally known for his work on behalf of creditors’ committees and indenture trustees and has extensive experience in financial restructuring, distressed situations, and bankruptcy issues. His practice includes counseling companies’ boards of directors and management on insolvency matters, crisis management, and financial and operational restructurings. He is an officer and a member of the board of directors of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and the New York Institute of Credit’s executive board.
 
Arent Fox’s nationally recognized Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring practice has been lauded as the “the best in the business” and is rated an industry leader by Chambers USA, Legal 500, US News & World Report, and The Deal’s Bankruptcy Insider. The firm handles financial and corporate restructurings and recapitalizations, bankruptcy litigation, and distressed asset and corporate acquisitions for companies in a variety of industries throughout the country.