Martin Lewis, Finance Expert in New York, NY, United States
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Martin Lewis

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
New York, NY, United States
Toptal Member Since
August 23, 2017

Martin has been involved in the restructuring of mid-cap companies with $20+ billion of debt during his 30-year career at major investment banks in New York and London. He has deep experience in company valuation and financings, business plan assessment, financial modeling, due diligence planning, and execution. Martin joined the Toptal network to work on challenging projects in a flexible work environment and with greater independence.

Due DiligenceComparable Company AnalysisFinancial ModelingValuationCorporate FinanceCapital MarketsFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)AccountingProject Finance

Career Highlights

Managing Director
Greenhill & Co.
Founding Member
Miller Buckfire Lewis & Co LLC
Managing Director
Wasserstein Perella & Co

Education Highlights

Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) Certification
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Master's Degree
University of Oxford

Work Experience

Founding Member

2013 - PRESENT
Gower Advisers LLC
  • Led a due diligence assignment for a large, private Mexican company in its acquisition of a $20 million minority stake in a Mexican infrastructure fund manager. Included detailed presentations on the structuring of an investment in a publicly-quoted investment fund and in the Mexican energy market after the energy reform legislation.
  • Advised Molymet, a large Chilean public company, in the restructuring of Molycorp, a $1.7 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The work included providing Molymet with a deep understanding of the U.S. restructuring process and full analyses of a potential investment versus their potential participation (including a full company valuation and business plan assessment).
  • Assisted the board of directors of a $300 million U.S. management services business in its negotiations with lenders as well as in its recapitalization. This assignment was primarily providing a second opinion on an in-depth analysis of the negotiation strategy with the bank group.
  • Supported Macquarie's Latin American infrastructure fund on the recapitalization of a $1 billion alternative energy project located in Mexico. This involved a full economic analysis of the Mexico-based renewables wind farm project.
  • Advised a family investor group on the sale of agricultural land in California; included a detailed valuation of citrus and almond farms.
  • Developed fully-dynamic, multi-case financial models with P&L, cash flow, and balance sheets used in M&A processes that went to the final round of bidding. The first project was for a consumer product company, the second for a chain of health and fitness clubs, and the third for a European luxury apparel manufacturer.
Focus areas: Financial Restructuring, Due Diligence, Valuation, Corporate Finance

Managing Director

2007 - 2013
Greenhill & Co.
  • Advised Stora Enso on its investment and recovery of value in New Page, Inc. This included a detailed valuation of lease contingency claims, a valuation analysis for litigation purposes of the original sale of New Page to Cerberus, and multi-party negotiations.
  • Completed the restructuring of Fleetwood Enterprises which involved the successful sale of the company's divisions in two separate M&A transactions with proceeds of $120+ million at the worst point of the 2008 financial recession.
  • Led the successful restructuring of Flexsol and Environmental Systems, two mid-sized ($200+ million) companies, both of which required extensive business plan development, valuation reports, and complex negotiations with senior lenders.
  • Co-managed, with Greenhill's head of real estate, assignments on behalf of creditors in two major real estate restructurings—GGP and Tishman DC Properties. Both assignments required the detailed modeling and valuation of large commercial real estate projects.
Focus areas: Capital Raising, Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Restructuring

Founding Member

2001 - 2005
Miller Buckfire Lewis & Co LLC
  • Co-founded the advisory firm of Miller Buckfire that once had 30 employees and $70+ million of annual revenue. Miller Buckfire was the successor to Wasserstein Perella's restructuring advisory business following Wasserstein's acquisition by Dresdner Bank in 2000.
  • Completed major restructuring assignments for $7+ billion of debt obligations for large and complex transactions including Grupo TMM, Polymer Group, Crown Cork & Seal, Cleveland Cliffs, Laidlaw, and BCP (Brazil).
  • Led the cross-border restructuring of Grupo TMM, a Mexican shipping and logistics business, involving $800+ million of bond and bank debt. The deal was the Turnaround Management Association's Mid-Market Restructuring Deal of the Year in 2004.
  • Advised a $1.8 billion international bank group syndicate on the restructuring of its debt with BCP Brazil (a Sao Paulo-based wireless operator) and on the subsequent sale of the company to American Movil.
  • Completed new financings (both inside bankruptcy through DIP loans and third-party financings on exit) for $1.5+ billion of new capital for the Polymer Group and Laidlaw restructurings.
  • Provided expert testimony in bankruptcy courts in New York, Delaware, and Texas on matters including valuation, M&A processes, and financings.
  • Created the broker-dealer structure for the newly formed group.
Focus areas: Debt Raises, Valuation, Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Restructuring

Managing Director

1998 - 2001
Wasserstein Perella & Co
  • Led the largest ($3 billion) U.S. corporate restructuring case in 2000 for the Loewen Group, an international cemetery and funeral home operator. The assignment involved extensive business plan modeling, raising $500 million of new DIP financing upon entering bankruptcy, raising $1 billion of bank financing on exit, and running a complex M&A process to sell a large number of individual locations owned by Loewen.
  • Advised the board of directors of Carmike Cinemas, a $600 million US theater chain, in its Chapter 11 restructuring case that culminated in the retention of full ownership of the company for its existing shareholders.
  • Managed the $500 million sale of Burlington Industries in Chapter 11 S.363 sale to W.L. Ross.
  • Managed the restructuring and sale of Acme Steel, the first steel company to file for Chapter 11 in the industry downturn of 1998/1999.
  • Completed the sale of Drypers Corp, an independent diaper manufacturer, through a three-part 363 auction in Houston, TX that raised over $150 million of value.
  • Led the restructuring of the Polymer Group, a $1 billion non-woven fabric manufacturer, which involved significant business plan development and negotiation of a pre-packaged sale of the company to Matlin Paterson.
  • Provided expert testimony in bankruptcy courts in New York, Delaware, and Texas on matters including valuation, M&A processes, and financings.
Focus areas: Capital Raising, Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Valuation

Managing Director

1991 - 1998
The Blackstone Group
  • Assisted in the creation of Blackstone’s restructuring advisory business in 1991.
  • Led the $800 million NY bankruptcy restructuring of Barneys Inc. which required significant business plan development for the retail business, obtaining financing for the company entering Chapter 11, and running an international M&A process to find potential buyers for the business.
  • Managed company-side restructurings of MobilMedia Corp, Paragon Trade Brands, Telemundo Group, ICF International, and Hoyts Cinemas (involving a debt of $2.5+ billion in aggregate). All aforementioned transactions included the detailed development of three-statement financial models as well as detailed business plan review.
  • Advised as a principal banker on creditor advisory assignments involving $6+ billion of debt on behalf of bank and bondholder groups for diverse cases including Evergreen Airlines, Envirodyne, Olympia & York, Anacomp, DEP Corp., FoxMeyer Corp., Kloster Cruise Lines, SCI Television, Tak Communications, Town & Country, Tracor Inc., and Western Union (New Valley).
Focus areas: Debt Raises, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Valuation, Financial Restructuring

Vice President

1983 - 1991
Chemical Bank
  • Completed capital market transactions comprising $4+ billion of financings—including two Eurobond currency financings with related swaps to dollars and five syndicated loan financings—for U.S. and Canadian corporate clients.
  • Led the $200 million Swiss franc Eurobond financing for Kruger Inc., a Canadian newsprint manufacturer. It involved complex swap transactions to raise cost-effective Canadian dollar financing for the company.
  • Executed $3+ billion of derivative transactions, including both interest rate and currency swaps as well as rate caps for corporate clients.
  • Managed a dozen large US corporate clients, including Philip Morris, Colgate, Sequa American Home Brands—providing end-to-end banking services including syndicated loans, derivatives, and traditional corporate banking products.
  • Advised on restructuring advisory assignments, including the successful recapitalizations of Franklin Mint, Tracor and Maryland Cable—transactions involving $1.5+ billion of debt obligations.
Focus areas: Financial Restructuring, Fixed-income Derivatives, Capital Markets, Bank Debt Raises

Associate

1980 - 1983
N M Rothschild & Co
  • Programmed financial models, utilizing basic computer language, for a broad range of corporate finance activities including cross-border M&A and project financing.
  • Developed financial models for project financings for a Chilean copper mine and a European channel tunnel.
  • Managed the office staff and developed relationships with local government and corporate customers in Mexico City as Rothschild's assistant representative in the region.
  • Advised and served as the Rothschild Mexican liaison for $1+ billion capital market financings in the London market for Pemex and Conasupo, two Mexican government entities.
  • Assisted in the creation of joint ventures between U.K. companies and local Mexican partners, complying with Mexico's foreign investment laws.
Focus areas: Financial Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Project Finance

Analyst

1977 - 1980
Coopers & Lybrand
  • Managed a team of analysts to complete audit processes for several large company subsidiaries.
  • Assisted corporate clients in complex tax situations as a member of the tax department.
Focus areas: Taxation, Management, Audits, Accounting
1977 - 1980

Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) Certification in Accounting

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales - London, UK

1973 - 1976

Master's Degree in Geography

University of Oxford - Oxford, UK

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