March 9, 2003
Conseco Finance Corp. reaches agreement to sell failing consumer lending arm in two parts for at least $1.2 billion.
The March 6 and March 8 editions of The Daily Deal reported that bankrupt Conseco Finance Corp. reached an agreement to sell its failing consumer lending arm in two parts for at least $1.2 billion. Willkie is noted as counsel to the investment consortium comprised of Fortress Investment Group LLC, J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC and Cerberus Capital Management LP, which acquired most of the St. Paul, Minn.-based Conseco Finance for approximately $700 million in cash and the assumption of about $200 million in debt. The investor group, led by Fortress, is the unit’s original stalking-horse bidders. On March 10, the Deal reported that Warren Buffett’s competing bid for the consumer lending unit was too late to be considered. Willkie attorneys on the deal were partners Thomas Cerabino and William Hiller, and associates Rosalind Fahey Kruse and Steven Wilamowsky.
