Day 1 – 28th October 2008

08.30 Registration and Sponsored Breakfast

Breakfast Sponsored by:

09.15 Chairman’s welcoming address

Keith Mullin, Editor-in-Chief, IFR

09.30 State of the Market

• State of the European Buyout Market and Medium-Term Prognosis

Simon Davies, Vice President, Blackstone Group

10.00 Are the banks still in the game?

• Will the credit crisis have a durable impact on banks' willingness and ability to finance mega-LBOs?
• How have banks' risk assessment parameters changed?
• Are blocked facilities still a headache?
• Will mega-jumbo deals ever make a comeback?

Jochen Koenig, Head of Sponsor and Corporate Leveraged Finance Europe, RBS
Stephen Pitts, Managing Director, European Leveraged Finance, Deutsche Bank AG

10.40 How will structural features evolve to meet the new environment?

• How conservative will deal structures become?
• Will the new spread paradigm strangle the market?
• New strategies for pricing and distrubution
• Issues & Trends concerning technical risks 

Paul Mckenna, Head of European Leveraged Syndicated Finance, ING
Gareth Noonan, Managing Director Leveraged Finance Capital Markets, Merrill Lynch
Daniel Rudnicki Schlumberger,Executive Director Acquisition and Leveraged Finance, JPMorgan

11:20 Refreshments

11:50 Institutional money and hedge funds

• Will non-bank institutional players be 'structured' out of the market?
• Are hedge funds and CLOs out of the game?
• How do institutional investors view the LBO market?
• Will private equity firms move aggressively into managing their own debt funds? Does this create conflicts?

Greig Morrish, Vice President, IM-Alternative Investments, Morgan Stanley
Fiona Hagdrup, Director, Leveraged Finance Group, M&G Investments
Richard Howell, Co-Head of Leveraged Finance, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers Europe Limited

12.30 Lunch

14:00 Will mezzanine remain dominant in subordinated debt?

• Do mezz investors have it all their own way?
• Who is investing in mezz debt, and can they expect traditional mezz returns?
• Does European high yield have any relevance to the 2008/2009 LBO market?

Pascal  Meysson, Executive Director, Alcentra
Eugene Kelly, Nomura Investment Adviser LLP
Rafael Calvo, Director, Mezzvest 

14.40 Is the mid-market where it's at?

• Review of recent deals
• Is the spotlight on the mid-market merely a sign of the times or a shift back to where the market has traditionally always been?
• What opportunities does the mid-market offer?
• Is there enough juice for the big banks and private equity players?
• Moving towards a pan-European market
• Rewards and challenges from mid-cap transactions in leveraged loan CLOs

Peer Rosenberg, Director, IKB Fund Management
Charlotte Conln, Head of Leveraged Syndications, BNP Paribas
Paul Gibbon, Executive Director, UBS Leveraged Capital Markets

15.20 Private equity perspectives

• Have private equity firms been left high and dry by the absence of cheap leverage?
• Sourcing opportunities in a difficult market.
• Will the emphasis shift to minority investments?
• How will the debt/equity balance change?
• Are sovereign wealth funds competing with private equity?
• Are private equity returns headed for a slump?
• How will hold periods be affected?

Matthew Sabben-Clare, Partner, Cinven
James Stewart, Partner, ECI Partners LLP
Alaric Fountain-Barber, Head Leveraged Loan Capital Marktes, Barclays Capital

16:00 Refreshments

16.15 Current LBO Markets - From a European and Local Perspective 

Sponsored by:

The session will focus on current developments in key European LBO markets with a view to discuss common themes across these markets, but also key differences in local market trends.  Countries to be covered include the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands as well as the Nordic and CEE regions with RBS Sponsor and Corporate Leveraged Finance country heads presenting theri insights into these markets.

Workshop Leader:
Jochen Koenig, Head of Sponsor and Corporate Leveraged Finance, Europe, RBS

17.30 Close of Day One Followed by drinks reception

Day 2 – 29th October 2008

08.45 Registration and Refreshment

09.15 Chairman’s Opening address

Keith Mullin, Editor-in-Chief, IFR

09.30 Busted LBOs

• How susceptible is the LBO market to a prolonged economic downturn?
• Is the market headed for a big fall?
• Are the more aggressively structured LBOs in jeopardy?
• Enter distressed investors and credit opportunity funds?

Martin Horne, Managing Director, Babson Capital Europe
Michelle De Angelis, Senior Director ,Leveraged Finance FitchRatings
Peter Marshall, Managing Director, Houlihan Lokey

10:15 Exit Strategies

• Whatever happened to private equity backed IPOs?
• What opportunities does the trade market offer?
• Outlook for secondary buyouts

Ajit Madan, Managing Director, European Levergared Capital Markets, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking
Peter Wallner, Head of Leveraged Finance, Germany, BNP Paribas

11.00 Morning coffee

11:30 New Markets and Market Wrap

New Markets

• Do emerging markets offer compelling buyout opportunities?
• What are the challenges of doing business in new jurisdictions? 

Market Wrap

• Key take-aways, and market predictions for 2009

Stuart Hewer, Head os Sponsor and Corporate Leveraged Finance, Germany, RBS
Eric Capp, Global Head of Leveraged Capital Markets, RBS

12:10 Chairman’s Closing Remarks

Keith Mullin, Editor-in-Chief, IFR

12:15-13:30 Lunch and Close

Close of Conference