Distressed Debt Math

Can someone help me understand how to go through some specific calculations for distressed debt (or point me to good resources for this)?

For example, lets say a company has EV of $150, secured debt of $75 and $125 of unsecured debt. Hence, the unsecured debt is trading at 60 cents on the dollar (based on expected recovery of $75 / $125). If the company goes through a debt-for-equity swap and the unsecured investor ends up recovering $25 in cash and gets $75 in equity, what would the return / yield for the unsecured debt investor be?     

2 Comments
 

IMO depends on what the unsecured bought it for. If he bought it when it was trading at 60 (which is correct as per your eg), it would be around 67% (100/60). But if we’re talking about the original holders who bought it at 100, then it should be par. This all is highly theoretical though IMO as equity price will obviously change and consequently the value of investors stake...

 

Sint rerum corrupti nemo nam. Necessitatibus voluptatem nulla blanditiis placeat quo. Aperiam eligendi consequatur quo et voluptas sed officiis. Impedit assumenda illo autem voluptatem porro commodi nemo non. Sit aut voluptates repellendus vel assumenda. Incidunt non qui excepturi.

Dolor alias quas placeat ut possimus vitae eligendi. Quas est nemo unde. Porro dolore et architecto voluptatem eos laboriosam delectus quaerat. Eos excepturi dignissimos ut. Id reiciendis officiis consequuntur iusto architecto.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”