PPM America, Inc.

PPM America, Inc. is a U.S.-based investment management firm that is registered with the SEC as an investment advisor. It managed $9.7 billion assets in 1990 and in 2014 managed $106 billion in assets.[1]

Overview

It is a subsidiary of U.K.-based Prudential plc, one of the largest publicly-traded financial firms, in the top 50 worldwide. A large share of its assets under management are investments of Jackson National Life, another Prudential plc subsidiary. In 2015, Clark Manning is chairman of its board of directors.[2] However, an ADV filing indicates Manning was deleted and Michael Andrew Wells was added, in role of director and chairman of the board, as of 1/2011, reported 3/31/2011.[3]

It has a long-term lease of space within the 31-story 225 West Wacker Drive building,[4] a "beige-and-glass tower" built during 1985-89.[5]

History

The firm was plaintiff in 1994 court case PPM America, Inc. v. Marriott Corp., 4th Circuit.[6] This was due to events beginning in 1992 by Marriott Corp. to split into two entities, giving all $2.4 billion of its debt to one of them, the less profitable, to be burdened with interest costs at 2/3 its cash flows. This was unanticipated, and caused immediate drop in market value of the debt by 30 percent. In 1993, a revised restructuring plan was announced that moved $450 million debt to the other entity, which was accepted by all creditors but PPM America, Inc., which held $120 million of debt issued in April, 1992. Marriott sued for securities fraud.[7]

The firm built a distressed securities investment group during the 1990s, which was characterized as a vulture investor for specializing in bankrupt or bankruptcy-risk firms. In 1999, it had positions in about 40 such firms, with $900 million invested, with a large enough percentage stake in about a third of those firms for it to have control or very significant influence on workout terms. Comparable investors included: Cerberus Capital Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Contrarian Capital Management, Canyon Partners, Appaloosa Management, DDJ Capital Management.[8]

It was listed among the Chicago Tribune's survey of employees of area as a "top" workplace in 2011, amidst 17 in the small business category.[9] In 2013, the firm had 227 employees and was rated best of 39 "top" small business workplaces in the survey.[10]

References
  1. Chart, PPM America
  2. "Company Overview of PPM America, Inc.: Board Members". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. ADV filing ppmamerica.com
  4. "Mirae Asset Buys 31-story Office Building in Chicago".
  5. "Chicago Architecture Info: 225 West Wacker".
  6. http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/875/289/1395305/
  7. Ileen B. Malitz (1994). "The Modern Role of Bond Covenants". The Research Foundation of The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts.
  8. Hilary Rosenberg (2000). The Vulture Investors. John Wiley & Sons.
  9. "Chicago's Top Workplaces 2011: The winners". Chicago Tribune.
  10. Janet Kidd Stewart (November 12, 2013). "PPM America: With 'noise' silenced, an opportunity to get down to business". Chicago Tribune.
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