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The Caesars Palace Coup: How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Corruption of the Private Equity Industry
It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.
In the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Big Short comes the riveting, multi-dimensional poker game between private equity firms and distressed debt hedge funds that played out from the Vegas Strip to Manhattan boardrooms to Chicago courthouses and even, for a moment, the halls of the United States Congress. On one Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital. On the the likes of Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital, and Appaloosa Management.
The Caesars bankruptcy put a twist on the old-fashioned casino heist. Through a $27 billion leveraged buyout and a dizzying string of financial engineering transactions, Apollo and TPG--in the midst of the post-Great Recession slump--had seemingly snatched every prime asset of the company from creditors, with the notable exception of Caesars Palace. But Caesars' hedge fund lenders and bondholders had scooped up the company's paper for nickels and dimes. And with their own armies of lawyers and bankers, they were ready to do everything necessary to take back what they believed was theirs--if they could just stop their own infighting.
These modern financiers now dominate the scene in Corporate America as their fight-to-the-death mentality continues to shock workers, politicians, and broader society--and even each other.
In The Caesars Palace Coup, financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap illuminate the brutal tactics of distressed debt mavens--vultures, as they are condemned--in the sale and purchase of even the biggest companies in the world with billions of dollars hanging in the balance.
In the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Big Short comes the riveting, multi-dimensional poker game between private equity firms and distressed debt hedge funds that played out from the Vegas Strip to Manhattan boardrooms to Chicago courthouses and even, for a moment, the halls of the United States Congress. On one Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital. On the the likes of Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital, and Appaloosa Management.
The Caesars bankruptcy put a twist on the old-fashioned casino heist. Through a $27 billion leveraged buyout and a dizzying string of financial engineering transactions, Apollo and TPG--in the midst of the post-Great Recession slump--had seemingly snatched every prime asset of the company from creditors, with the notable exception of Caesars Palace. But Caesars' hedge fund lenders and bondholders had scooped up the company's paper for nickels and dimes. And with their own armies of lawyers and bankers, they were ready to do everything necessary to take back what they believed was theirs--if they could just stop their own infighting.
These modern financiers now dominate the scene in Corporate America as their fight-to-the-death mentality continues to shock workers, politicians, and broader society--and even each other.
In The Caesars Palace Coup, financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap illuminate the brutal tactics of distressed debt mavens--vultures, as they are condemned--in the sale and purchase of even the biggest companies in the world with billions of dollars hanging in the balance.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
April 28, 2021
Started well, but got bogged down in the middle. Needed better organization, as the chronology of the narrative was all over the place at multiple different points. Needed a little bit more in depth on the nature of some of the transactions and organizations--I understand how important keeping things simple were to the authors for general consumption, but at times it got so vague as to be incomprehensible.
March 31, 2021
Certainly acknowledge that this book covers a very niche / esoteric area, but can unequivocally say it is one of the most thrilling / gripping books I've read in a while. On par with Barbarians at the Gate. Hard to believe that all of this stuff really happened. The colorful characters + crazy situation made for an extremely entertaining story.
April 26, 2021
Good story, but an insane number of typos, even for a first edition.
January 9, 2025
If you want to understand "creditor-on-creditor violence", why it is happening so often now and if you are a fan of books such as The Predators' Ball, Barbarians at the Gate and The Smartest Guys in the Room then The Caesars Palace Coup by Indap and Frumes will likely be a book you find to be very entertaining and informative.
"THERE WAS AN EXPRESSION AMONGST creditors about dealing with Apollo: Everyone comes to the table with a gun, but Apollo is the only party who puts it on the table before the meeting starts."
Or, if you are curious as to how Apollo keeps gaining ownership or larger and larger parts of valuable assets across the world and how its model has come to dominate corporate America this will be a book you find illuminating. The authors take on this dramatic and entertaining fallout from the financial engineering that took place at Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah's Entertainment) - with seemingly extensive input from inside sources and court records (which authors have strung together nicely to provide an uber entertaining narrative). This pitted luminaries such as Howard Marks (Oaktree) and David Tepper (Appaloosa) vs. Leon Black, Marc Rowan (Apollo) and David “Bondo” Bonderman -who is a bit like a racist forrest gump like figure - (TPG) against one another. Even Soros Fund Management, Icahn and John Paulson played bit roles in this. If you find yourself getting angry at the many shenanigans pulled by Apollo (lot of them seemingly spearheaded by the irascible David Sambur - a very colorful and entertaining character, you'll want to read the book at least for the many Entourage Ari Gold like quotes attributed to him) to shortchange creditors then more so than damning "late stage capitalism" perhaps condemn the zero interest policies maintained by global central bankers which have triggered the race to the bottom antics of these investment firms (or as Marks like to say "people energetically exercising their fiduciary duties" when accused of taking part in a fratricidal war).
Something that really struck me was the 1 degree of Michael Milken/Drexel effect, who seemingly is connected to all the major PE investment moguls in America. "The central figure in the Caesars brawl was, however, absent from the room. Apollo Global Management had been one of the two principal private equity firms who had acquired the storied casino chain in 2008. Apollo was defined by two traits: genius and impunity. The firm was co-founded by Leon Black, Michael Milken’s right-hand man at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Milken had famously invented the junk bond market in the 1980s. After Milken’s fall from grace, Black, in 1990, had formed Apollo to exploit the imploding debt markets that Milken and Drexel themselves had wrought. Over its twenty-five-year existence, Apollo’s hallmark had become discerning opportunity where no one else dare tread and then striking deals everyone else was too timid to make. Apollo also liked to play by its own rules, forcing its adversaries to think twice about confrontation. As Apollo’s success compounded over the years, only a few ever stood in its way. Apollo had become, unquestionably, the most feared private equity firm in the world.", "Howard Marks, the co-founder of Oaktree, was never a Drexel employee. But as a consistent buyer of Drexel junk bonds in the 1980s while an investment manager at Citigroup, he eventually became like family to Leon Black. And their wives, Nancy Marks and Debra Black, would become especially close." 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon < 1 degree of Michael Milken.
For some reason I suspect Rowan may have been a source to the authors. James Sprayregen was probably a source as well, Andrew Milgram of Marblegat too, in addition to Bruce Bennett, and Kaj Vazales of Oaktree (especially on the antics of Sambur).
With regard to Sambur:
"Somebody tell me where Ken Liang’s breakfast is so I can dip my balls in it,” yelled David Sambur."
"The meeting was in a space called the “Jury Room” across from the firm cafeteria and for some reason Sambur was sloppily eating a bowl of cereal."
"Sambur superficially reminded many of Marc Rowan—short, dark hair, Jewish, and razor sharp when it came to complex finance. Still, he had little of Rowan’s charm. One could not help but like Marc Rowan; one often could not help but cringe at David Sambur. He always operated at Defcon One. Ordinary interactions turned into sieges with Sambur. He was not for chit-chat or back-slapping; it was what you could do for him or what he was going to threaten to do to you."
"Sambur’s more natural approach was to simply use brute force. He was prone to sending a nasty email at all hours of the night, explaining how his opponents, sometimes addressed as “m0therfuckers,” would be vanquished."
And possibly the funniest one:"Basta didn’t mind getting a little coarse: “There comes a time in every case where you have to shit or get off the pot.” Sambur then stood up and aimed to take back control of the meeting. “Thanks Paul, that was great. Good job laying that out,” Sambur began. “And for the avoidance of doubt, I’m here to shit.” The lenders and their advisors looked at each other, shaking their heads. Sambur had a gift for making an awkward situation even more so."
If you run a company that might be involved in a private equity situation/distressed credit this book ought to be required reading.
The one qualm I had was with how the authors wouldn't reintroduce characters as there were so many people involved it was difficult to keep track of who was who a few pages after they'd been introduced. So if the authors had taken care when re-introducing a specific character a few pages after they'd been introduced that'd have been very helpful.
NOTE: If you're not someone involved in or interested in corporate finance you're not likely to find this book entertaining (although the authors have done a good job to try and make this accessible, the structures involved are just too arcane and complicated) - you are likely to find the book boring and tedious.
"It's a lot of fun to go duck hunting, I guess until the ducks start shooting back" - Al Dunlap, what happened to Apollo with Caesars.
"THERE WAS AN EXPRESSION AMONGST creditors about dealing with Apollo: Everyone comes to the table with a gun, but Apollo is the only party who puts it on the table before the meeting starts."
Or, if you are curious as to how Apollo keeps gaining ownership or larger and larger parts of valuable assets across the world and how its model has come to dominate corporate America this will be a book you find illuminating. The authors take on this dramatic and entertaining fallout from the financial engineering that took place at Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah's Entertainment) - with seemingly extensive input from inside sources and court records (which authors have strung together nicely to provide an uber entertaining narrative). This pitted luminaries such as Howard Marks (Oaktree) and David Tepper (Appaloosa) vs. Leon Black, Marc Rowan (Apollo) and David “Bondo” Bonderman -who is a bit like a racist forrest gump like figure - (TPG) against one another. Even Soros Fund Management, Icahn and John Paulson played bit roles in this. If you find yourself getting angry at the many shenanigans pulled by Apollo (lot of them seemingly spearheaded by the irascible David Sambur - a very colorful and entertaining character, you'll want to read the book at least for the many Entourage Ari Gold like quotes attributed to him) to shortchange creditors then more so than damning "late stage capitalism" perhaps condemn the zero interest policies maintained by global central bankers which have triggered the race to the bottom antics of these investment firms (or as Marks like to say "people energetically exercising their fiduciary duties" when accused of taking part in a fratricidal war).
Something that really struck me was the 1 degree of Michael Milken/Drexel effect, who seemingly is connected to all the major PE investment moguls in America. "The central figure in the Caesars brawl was, however, absent from the room. Apollo Global Management had been one of the two principal private equity firms who had acquired the storied casino chain in 2008. Apollo was defined by two traits: genius and impunity. The firm was co-founded by Leon Black, Michael Milken’s right-hand man at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Milken had famously invented the junk bond market in the 1980s. After Milken’s fall from grace, Black, in 1990, had formed Apollo to exploit the imploding debt markets that Milken and Drexel themselves had wrought. Over its twenty-five-year existence, Apollo’s hallmark had become discerning opportunity where no one else dare tread and then striking deals everyone else was too timid to make. Apollo also liked to play by its own rules, forcing its adversaries to think twice about confrontation. As Apollo’s success compounded over the years, only a few ever stood in its way. Apollo had become, unquestionably, the most feared private equity firm in the world.", "Howard Marks, the co-founder of Oaktree, was never a Drexel employee. But as a consistent buyer of Drexel junk bonds in the 1980s while an investment manager at Citigroup, he eventually became like family to Leon Black. And their wives, Nancy Marks and Debra Black, would become especially close." 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon < 1 degree of Michael Milken.
For some reason I suspect Rowan may have been a source to the authors. James Sprayregen was probably a source as well, Andrew Milgram of Marblegat too, in addition to Bruce Bennett, and Kaj Vazales of Oaktree (especially on the antics of Sambur).
With regard to Sambur:
"Somebody tell me where Ken Liang’s breakfast is so I can dip my balls in it,” yelled David Sambur."
"The meeting was in a space called the “Jury Room” across from the firm cafeteria and for some reason Sambur was sloppily eating a bowl of cereal."
"Sambur superficially reminded many of Marc Rowan—short, dark hair, Jewish, and razor sharp when it came to complex finance. Still, he had little of Rowan’s charm. One could not help but like Marc Rowan; one often could not help but cringe at David Sambur. He always operated at Defcon One. Ordinary interactions turned into sieges with Sambur. He was not for chit-chat or back-slapping; it was what you could do for him or what he was going to threaten to do to you."
"Sambur’s more natural approach was to simply use brute force. He was prone to sending a nasty email at all hours of the night, explaining how his opponents, sometimes addressed as “m0therfuckers,” would be vanquished."
And possibly the funniest one:"Basta didn’t mind getting a little coarse: “There comes a time in every case where you have to shit or get off the pot.” Sambur then stood up and aimed to take back control of the meeting. “Thanks Paul, that was great. Good job laying that out,” Sambur began. “And for the avoidance of doubt, I’m here to shit.” The lenders and their advisors looked at each other, shaking their heads. Sambur had a gift for making an awkward situation even more so."
If you run a company that might be involved in a private equity situation/distressed credit this book ought to be required reading.
The one qualm I had was with how the authors wouldn't reintroduce characters as there were so many people involved it was difficult to keep track of who was who a few pages after they'd been introduced. So if the authors had taken care when re-introducing a specific character a few pages after they'd been introduced that'd have been very helpful.
NOTE: If you're not someone involved in or interested in corporate finance you're not likely to find this book entertaining (although the authors have done a good job to try and make this accessible, the structures involved are just too arcane and complicated) - you are likely to find the book boring and tedious.
"It's a lot of fun to go duck hunting, I guess until the ducks start shooting back" - Al Dunlap, what happened to Apollo with Caesars.
December 26, 2021
The book is at best 100 pages of bankruptcy drama and 200 pages of law firm directory. I gave the book 2 stars because I do think that there is a good story here, it just wasn't written well. I was a little troubled by the repeated need to randomly highlight which of the lenders/lawyers/business people were Jewish in this case, why not also inform us who were Christian or Atheist then? I hope that it wasn't intended this way, but it came across a bit like the old Shylock stereotype.
May 11, 2023
Needs a good edit. Seems more like the marketing for this is the world’s biggest PR coup. I’ve seen this recommended by tons of people. Normal people I respect. But this book was bad. The writing, the selections of information presented, all of it. It felt like being trapped in an elevator with a CPA who was determined to tell you all the unnecessary facts of his most recent audit. They only punchline is that a bunch of money was made and lost.
Maybe I’ll revisit it after another twenty people recommend it, it’s possible I was just not in the right mood here, but this really seemed like a bust.
Maybe I’ll revisit it after another twenty people recommend it, it’s possible I was just not in the right mood here, but this really seemed like a bust.
June 2, 2021
Fascinating but incredibly difficult to follow for someone not working in finance or bankruptcy law. Be prepared to try and keep up with the names of 50+ law firms.
April 20, 2022
This is a hell of a business case study of Caesars, one of the most complicated corporate restructurings in history. It wasn’t like “Barbarian at the gate” at all. It was pretty technical and it is not easy for readers who don’t have decent background in corporate finance to follow along. A big part of the book is also about the various courthouse dramas that you need some basic understanding of corporate law to appreciate the twist and development. It is a great book to learn about the technical aspects of corporate restructuring, and with the author’s good writing, it also gives you great feel of the lives of these bankers, operators and lawyers in private equity and distressed investing. I mean, these guys all make tens or hundreds of millions of dollar, yet I just cannot help but feel tired for them as I read on. The poker aspect of it sounds sexy and fun, but the majority of the time these guys are just burying themselves into unimaginable amount of legal documents, and countless negotiations and meetings which are super tedious and basically a waste of life. It is simply torturing, especially when you are a junior guy. I am super interested in the topic and keen to learn every aspect of it, but I have long decided against my career in the professions. It is simply not the best way to live your life.
April 16, 2024
Very interesting read feeling like I relearned corporate finance on the fly
September 27, 2022
Pretty dense and took a while to get into the groove. Corporate thriller vibes only came through about half way imo and tbh I got pretty confused by all the various characters involved (Probs an accurate reflection of what actually happened with the deal) given the lack of structure and how the narrative panned out. Also not sure if it was my edition of the book but there were a lot of typos…
Nonetheless, still fascinating to learn about how the infamous txn unfolded over time into a gripping legal battle with lots of cautionary messages wrt the relationship with creditors. Feels bad for Loveman…
Nonetheless, still fascinating to learn about how the infamous txn unfolded over time into a gripping legal battle with lots of cautionary messages wrt the relationship with creditors. Feels bad for Loveman…
July 18, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this great story of Lawyers vs VCs, very well written.
July 25, 2024
Dense read at times, so had to read it piecemeal, but ultimately this was a comprehensive and engaging narrative of the enormous bust up between some of finance’s biggest players.
Probably of limited interest to people who don’t care about debt restructuring, but I loved it! Some great courtroom scenes and just the right level of explanatory detail.
Probably of limited interest to people who don’t care about debt restructuring, but I loved it! Some great courtroom scenes and just the right level of explanatory detail.
October 4, 2021
The Caesars Palace Coup tells the story of one of the most ill-timed and structured leveraged buyouts (LBOs). Right before the subprime mortgage crisis hit, the company was loaded up with massive amounts of debt and then taken private. What resulted were massive layoffs/restructuring and eventual chapter 11 bankruptcy in which the debtors and private equity investors then fought vividly against each other.
If you expect this book to be a drama that moves at breakneck speed and focus on how the companies operations were affected on the ground and the personal destinies of all the layed of employees, you are not going to find it here. The absolute majority of the book's 350 pages are spent on describing the complex financial engineering behind the subsidiaries' set ups and asset transfers, as well as on years of legal proceeding with a massive number of different legal actors.
Overall, I am giving it 3 stars (liked it). While the authors extreme attention to detail can generally be applauded, I couldn't shake the feeling that the same story could have been told with half the number of pages. If you are a current/aspiring bankruptcy lawyer or distressed debt investor, or private equity professional, this book is a 5 stars and should be close to the top of your reading list.
If you expect this book to be a drama that moves at breakneck speed and focus on how the companies operations were affected on the ground and the personal destinies of all the layed of employees, you are not going to find it here. The absolute majority of the book's 350 pages are spent on describing the complex financial engineering behind the subsidiaries' set ups and asset transfers, as well as on years of legal proceeding with a massive number of different legal actors.
Overall, I am giving it 3 stars (liked it). While the authors extreme attention to detail can generally be applauded, I couldn't shake the feeling that the same story could have been told with half the number of pages. If you are a current/aspiring bankruptcy lawyer or distressed debt investor, or private equity professional, this book is a 5 stars and should be close to the top of your reading list.
September 25, 2021
This is a story of THE giant of the Wall Street. The story covers the most crucial aspect to be the leader in the street: ruthless. Better than most finance textbooks.
A good reminder to always read the legal docs to know what is your right as an investor. If you’re not willing to play hard and dirty, other people will.
A good reminder to always read the legal docs to know what is your right as an investor. If you’re not willing to play hard and dirty, other people will.
June 14, 2023
Absolutely phenomenal book. As someone whose former firm was a member of the 2nd Lien bondholders committee in Chapter 11, I can't recommend this enough. Ranks right up there at the top of "true finance" (my own category, sort of like true crime) books.
April 3, 2022
Tells the story of the leveraged buyout of Ceasers Entertainment (the Vegas casino company) by Apollo and TPG (two of the biggest hitting private equity firms) for $28 billion in 2007/8. Simply put, the buyers over paid and over leveraged, and then proceeded to undertake a series of highly questionable transactions (i.e fraudulent transfers and asset stripping) in order to buy time in the wake of the GFC and attempt to avoid bankruptcy. Whilst these suspect transactions extended the run way for Ceasers and its shareholders, they were vehemently opposed on the other side by the various groups of creditors holding different types of Ceasers debt. After the initial set up (which was quite interesting) - it is this dispute that forms the crux of the book, following the various pieces of litigation which ultimately leads to Ceasars bankruptcy and restructuring.
For me, this was a far cry from the panache of Michael Lewis and his talent for making technical and complex subject matter into a thrilling narrative. With the exception of the first 100 pages (as mentioned, this was an interesting coverage of the initial acquisition and early strategy of managing the business), the authors failed to make the narrative interesting, or to even really string together a sensical chronology of events. Instead it read as a litany of name dropping, both individuals and firms, who the authors clearly idolise, even whilst telling the story of their blatant greed and mis-use of their clear intelligence/skills toward facilitating financial gain at the expense of others.
Target audience would be an insolvency/restructuring lawyer, or someone trying to memorise the names of all the white shoe US law firms.
For me, this was a far cry from the panache of Michael Lewis and his talent for making technical and complex subject matter into a thrilling narrative. With the exception of the first 100 pages (as mentioned, this was an interesting coverage of the initial acquisition and early strategy of managing the business), the authors failed to make the narrative interesting, or to even really string together a sensical chronology of events. Instead it read as a litany of name dropping, both individuals and firms, who the authors clearly idolise, even whilst telling the story of their blatant greed and mis-use of their clear intelligence/skills toward facilitating financial gain at the expense of others.
Target audience would be an insolvency/restructuring lawyer, or someone trying to memorise the names of all the white shoe US law firms.
July 10, 2021
A great work of scholarship on the players, the legal structuring shenanigans, and management / board roles in the restructuring. I have a great appreciation for how important each word is in a legal document, and how assuming good intentions of an equity owner as a creditor can be a damning mistake down the line. Or said differently, the chasing for returns can lead you to make pretty dumb compromises and leave yourself at risk. Buffet would say that you “don’t need to swing at every pitch.”
—
There were some pretty dry chapters going into the byzantine relationships and shell game of shuffling around value. All interesting stuff, but just not approachable. One interesting quote was that “structure determines behavior”, which is a really appropriate way to contextualize the appetite for volatility from any given investor (e.g. locked up funds w/ no mark to market can stomach for longer.)
Some of the courtroom drama was pretty funny. Some classic cases of stuffing the board with loyalists (so far out of depth) who’s M.O. is to continue riding sponsor coat tails for the checks. Tried and true method to give the impression of “independence.”
This book also had some pretty colorful commentary on the various players, which was pretty consistent with what I have heard.
—
There were some pretty dry chapters going into the byzantine relationships and shell game of shuffling around value. All interesting stuff, but just not approachable. One interesting quote was that “structure determines behavior”, which is a really appropriate way to contextualize the appetite for volatility from any given investor (e.g. locked up funds w/ no mark to market can stomach for longer.)
Some of the courtroom drama was pretty funny. Some classic cases of stuffing the board with loyalists (so far out of depth) who’s M.O. is to continue riding sponsor coat tails for the checks. Tried and true method to give the impression of “independence.”
This book also had some pretty colorful commentary on the various players, which was pretty consistent with what I have heard.
February 24, 2024
"The Caesars Palace Coup" by Sujeet Indap is a fascinating story of power, influence, the US banking "system" and good ole fashioned GREED!
It provides a very detailed, almost forensic, account of the fortunes and misfortunes surrounding this venerable brand in Las Vegas. As a fan of Vegas in general and IT professional I've certainly spent more than my fair share at the Palace. But this book provided insights I'd never thought of before.
The book is dry and heavy on financial accounting details - not everybody will enjoy the level of granularity. But if you're the slightest bit curious about how a literal handful of firms with innocuous sounding names control the financial fortunes of the world in their collective hands, this will be an eye-opening experience - and not altogether pleasant at times when one realizes the sheer magnitude of how entrenched the financial services apparatus is engaged in proverbially "all the things"
Fascinating if somewhat dry at times, read.
It provides a very detailed, almost forensic, account of the fortunes and misfortunes surrounding this venerable brand in Las Vegas. As a fan of Vegas in general and IT professional I've certainly spent more than my fair share at the Palace. But this book provided insights I'd never thought of before.
The book is dry and heavy on financial accounting details - not everybody will enjoy the level of granularity. But if you're the slightest bit curious about how a literal handful of firms with innocuous sounding names control the financial fortunes of the world in their collective hands, this will be an eye-opening experience - and not altogether pleasant at times when one realizes the sheer magnitude of how entrenched the financial services apparatus is engaged in proverbially "all the things"
Fascinating if somewhat dry at times, read.
December 19, 2023
Great insight and case study on private equity, leveraged buyouts and debt structures.
Reminder to be super aware of what is written in debt documents and what rights that allowed you. Be wary of light covenants and the ability to be knocked down the debt rights seniority pyramid.
Great reminder that debt can also be an instrument to find value if a company is great but with a bad balance sheet.
Always have to be able to trust the underlying controllers and study their histories of what they think is the ethical line.
Fascinating story and fun read with many shocking actions!
Reminder to be super aware of what is written in debt documents and what rights that allowed you. Be wary of light covenants and the ability to be knocked down the debt rights seniority pyramid.
Great reminder that debt can also be an instrument to find value if a company is great but with a bad balance sheet.
Always have to be able to trust the underlying controllers and study their histories of what they think is the ethical line.
Fascinating story and fun read with many shocking actions!
January 15, 2023
Truly a Tome. Incredible what a good job the authors do at helping a reader keep all the participants and transactions straight. This would be a solid read for anyone beginning to be interested in corporate finance; even if they have to look some things up, every term is embedded in enough context that it'd stick much better than a list of definitions.
As a side note, wild just how many people in these industries went to the same schools played the same sports etc.
As a side note, wild just how many people in these industries went to the same schools played the same sports etc.
April 7, 2023
I was really excited for a new case study type book to give me my “Smartest Guys in the Room” fix. Even though I am familiar with the concepts discussed, unfortunately the organization and name dropping in the book is a lot to keep up with that overall just led to choppy narration. Worth a read if this is your exact field, but if you have a general interest, this is going to be hard to get through.
December 7, 2025
As typical with these finance nonfictions, the writing style is far from artful--it can be choppy and hard to follow, especially with the complex topic at hand. That being said, this is such a cool story. It does a great job highlighting how combative the distress debt market can be and how many different players are involved (I didn't realize how big a role the law firms played).
Would highly recommend to anyone interested in finance.
Would highly recommend to anyone interested in finance.
January 10, 2023
Highly entertaining but very convoluted writing. Here is a collection of my favorite quotes from the novel:
“And for some reason Sambur was sloppily eating a bowl of cereal”
“You hear Ken’s voice on the phone and all you can do is sigh”
“Fortgang had once thrown a bagel at an opposing investment banker telling him, ‘This is what you’re entitled to!’”
“We’re going to rent a blimp and have it hover over Times Square with all your bank account information”
“Pulling a J Crew”
“And for some reason Sambur was sloppily eating a bowl of cereal”
“You hear Ken’s voice on the phone and all you can do is sigh”
“Fortgang had once thrown a bagel at an opposing investment banker telling him, ‘This is what you’re entitled to!’”
“We’re going to rent a blimp and have it hover over Times Square with all your bank account information”
“Pulling a J Crew”
February 1, 2025
Overall, very well written providing tons of historical context in what happens in corporate finance and capital restructuring. Worlds biggest names were involved in this deal and every player is in it for themselves. This is the first book I’ve read that got into detail on bankruptcy law, it’s a little confusing but easy to navigate and understand the big picture.
March 21, 2023
3.5 stars. Interesting, well-written, and researched in detail. However, unless you are a bankruptcy lawyer and/or a hedge fund level financier, you'll likely have a tough time following the action. This one ain't a simple "whodunit" type suspense book. All in all, I liked but did not love it.
August 7, 2023
So poorly written, but what a story! Would have been a 5 if it had better prose, fewer typos, and clearer organization. Serves as a good sequel of sorts to Barbarians at the Gate. BatG covers the purchase an asset and this covers what happens when you take on too much leverage in order to purchase an asset.
November 24, 2024
couldnt put it down. also, recognizing names in this book was crazy.
December 23, 2024
Terribly written. Too long too many details. They should learn from Michael Lewis
November 23, 2025
Not as easy to read as I thought, but still pretty interesting.
February 9, 2022
Restruktureringer er laaaaange, advokater og ageny problemer, og PE er kill or be killed. Noice
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