Biography
Most recently, in 2024, Alex was named a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000, named to the Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, and “recommended” for Restructuring by Legal 500. In 2022, he was named an “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts and an “Emerging Leader” by The M&A Advisor. Prior to joining Weil, Alex was a senior associate in a tier-1 restructuring practice at a full-service commercial law firm in Sydney, Australia, where he advised financial institutions, administrators, receivers, liquidators, creditors, and companies on domestic and cross-border restructuring, insolvency, and distressed asset sale and M&A matters.
Representative Experience
Debtor/Company-side Experience
- Mobileum, Inc., a leading global provider of telecom analytics and network solutions, in connection with its prepackaged chapter 11 cases with approximately $628 million in debt obligations.
- Regis Corporation, a leader in the haircare industry and franchisor of major salon brands, including Supercuts, in connection with the successful refinancing of the Company’s new senior secured credit facility with TCW Asset Management Company LLC and Midcap Financial Trust. The transaction includes a $105 million term loan that replaced Regis’s existing debt, reduced outstanding indebtedness by more than $80 million and will save approximately $7 million in cash interest annually and left public equity holders in place and unimpaired.
- Sunlight Financial Holdings Inc. and its debtor affiliates, a leading solar financial services company, in connection with its prepackaged chapter 11 cases and acquisition by a consortium of established investors in the solar financing industry and its senior secured lender.
- Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of mattresses in North America, in connection with its chapter 11 case with approximately $1.9 billion in debt obligations.
- Talen Energy Supply, LLC, a power generation and infrastructure company in North America, in its chapter 11 cases with approximately $5 billion in funded debt obligations.
- MedMen Enterprises, in connection with its leading edge out-of-court restructuring involving hundreds of millions in liabilities and resulting in a $100 million new-money equity recapitalization.
- AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., the largest movie exhibition company in the United States and globally, in its successful out-of-court restructuring which included various capital raising efforts that yielded over $1.5 billion of cash and other liquidity improvements and the reduction of AMC’s debt load by more than $550 million.
- Healogics, Inc., the nation’s leading wound-care center operations provider, on a comprehensive restructuring of over $860 million in funded debt through an out-of-court debt-for-equity exchange, resulting in a $450 million deleveraging that obtained 100% participation from its lenders and provided Healogics with $240 million in new equity financing. As part of the transaction, the Company also secured a new $30 million revolving credit facility, in addition to a new $370 million first lien term loan.
- Regis Corporation, a leader in the haircare industry and franchisor of major salon brands, including Supercuts, in connection with its comprehensive $295m revolving credit facility amendment.
- Mortgage Contracting Services, a company providing inspection services and property preservation for investors of defaulted mortgages, on its out-of-court debt-for-equity exchange, resulting in a $400 million deleveraging that obtained 100% participation from its debtholders and provided MCS with renewed incremental liquidity through a new revolving credit facility.
- Serta Simmons Bedding, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of mattresses in North America, in their new money priority term loan and exchange transaction, which included $200 million of new capital and the exchange of approximately $1 billion in first lien debt and $300 million in second lien debt, and reduced debt held by participating lenders by over $400 million.
- Ditech Holding Corporation, one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, and certain of its affiliated debtors in their pre-arranged chapter 11 cases. Ditech and its subsidiaries had approximately $15-17 billion in debt and mortgage-related liabilities, including residential mortgage securities funding obligations. At the time of filing, Ditech filed a restructuring support agreement (“RSA”) backed by holders of more than 75% of its first lien term loan debt. Ditech’s RSA provided for a dual-track restructuring strategy that allows the debtors to evaluate various strategic alternatives with a backstopped emergence plan as they continue to provide customers with home financing solutions and high-quality service.
- Claire’s Stores, Inc., one of the nation’s largest retailers with more than 4,000 owned and franchised locations globally, in its prearranged restructuring efforts related to more than $2 billion in funded debt.
- Walter Investment Management, Inc., the fifth-largest mortgage servicer in the United States, in its prepackaged restructuring efforts related to more than $2 billion in funded parent-level debt and more than $13 billion in other funded debt obligations. This one-of-a-kind restructuring plan allowed this highly regulated enterprise to avoid filing its operating companies for chapter 11 while simultaneously discharging the operating companies’ guarantees of funded debt at the holding company. The restructuring plan also provided a recovery of 50% of the recognized company’s common stock to existing shareholders while simultaneously reducing the company’s funded debt by more than $600 million.
- China Fishery Group, an investment holding company that sources, harvests, onboard processes, and delivers fish worldwide, in its chapter 11 and cross-border restructuring of its approximately $2B in debt.
- Paragon Offshore plc, an offshore drilling company, in its contested chapter 11 cases.
- Basic Energy Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest oilfield services companies, in their prepackaged restructuring cases involving more than $1.1 billion in funded debt obligations.
Creditor/Sponsor-side/Financial Institution/Other Experience
- The Special Master for the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in connection with enforcing judgments for billions, designing a plan for the Court supervised sale of the shares of PDV Holding, Inc., the parent Company of CITGO Holding, Inc. CITGO is one of the largest refiners, transporter, and marketer of motor fuels, petrochemicals, and other industrial products in the United States.
- Representing the largest secured lender to Parallel in connection with its ongoing restructuring efforts.
- Talen Energy Marketing, LLC and Talen Energy Supply, LLC as second lien lenders in the chapter 11 cases of NorthEast Gas Generation, an owner and operator of electricity generation plants.
- DIP lender, first lien lender, and successful stalking horse bidder in the chapter 11 cases of Tamarac 10200, LLC and Unipharma, LLC, manufacturer of OTC and nutraceutical products.
- An ad hoc group of first lien creditors of Jason Industries, the North American industrials company.
- An ad hoc group of holders of $500 million of first lien notes who achieved approximately 114% recovery in the chapter 11 case of Cobalt International Energy.
- Ambac Assurance Corporation in the state court rehabilitation of its Segregated Account.
- Brookfield Asset Management, as one of the largest first lien creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Company LLC and its debtor affiliates.
- General Electric Company and its affiliates, as sponsor, in the prepackaged chapter 11 case of Homer City Generation L.P., a coal-fired, independent power production plant with $600 million in secured debt prior to its filing.
Firm News & Announcements, Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Guides and Resources, Latest Thinking
Firm News & Announcements
- Twenty Five Weil Partners Named to 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation Firm Announcement — July 01, 2024
- Weil Advised Regis Corporation in New Credit Facility to Refinance Existing Debt and Deleverage Balance Sheet Deal Brief — June 27, 2024
Awards and Recognition
- Alexander Welch Named a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. in 2024 Award Brief — IFLR1000
- Alexander Welch Named to the Lawdragon 500 X - The Next Generation list for 2024 Award Brief — Lawdragon
Speaking Engagements
-
You Can, but Should You?
Speaker(s):
Alexander W. Welch and
Gabriel A. Morgan
February 23, 2024 — New York, NY — Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference - This panel considers the time and place for creditors and debtors to employ or demure certain tactics, including board sweeps, revolver draws, retentions, governance rights, and others. As bankruptcy courts continue to allow parties more and more leeway for aggressive maneuvers, the question continues to shift from whether they can do something to whether they should.