Covenant default
A financial covenant is tripped and the incumbent lender's posture hardens.
Special situations investment banking
Distressed debt capital markets and special situations M&A.
Refinancings, rescue capital, and sale processes for overlooked credits and assets — for companies, lenders, and sponsors working against a deadline.
- $20M – $200M
- Typical transaction size
- Middle market
- Companies and their stakeholders
- 35+ years
- Harney Partners restructuring heritage
Who we work with
Middle market companies and their stakeholders.
- Private equity and independent sponsors
- Bank and non-bank lenders
- Business owners
- SBIC funds
- Family offices
- Legal, accounting, and other advisors
When clients call us
Built for situations where time, capital structure, and stakeholder alignment are all under pressure at once.
Most engagements begin with one of six pressure points. Each is easier to solve early, while options are still open.
Maturity wall
A near-term maturity cannot be refinanced on conventional terms.
Liquidity pressure
Cash is tight, availability is constrained, and runway is measured in weeks.
Lender exit
Forbearance, reservation of rights, or an outright demand that the credit be refinanced.
Distressed M&A
A sale must be run quickly, often under court, ABC, or creditor supervision.
Recapitalization
The capital structure no longer fits the business and has to be reset.
In every case the mandate is the same: create real competition for an overlooked credit or asset, and close it before the deadline that created the problem.
Services
Two service offerings, built for overlooked credits and assets.
Distressed debt capital markets
Industry agnostic. Underwritten on capital structure, collateral, and liquidity rather than sector.
Stressed and covenant-default refinancings, rescue and bridge financing, DIP and exit financing, and structured credit across the capital stack.
- Covenant-default and stressed refinancings
- Rescue and bridge financing
- Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing
- Unitranche, second lien, and mezzanine
- Exit financing on plan confirmation
- Asset-based and structured credit
Executed across the full institutional lender network: direct lenders, credit funds, specialty finance, and special situations desks.
Special situations M&A
In court and out of court. Processes built for speed, stakeholder consent, and closing certainty.
Distressed and event-driven sale processes, in court and out of court, including lender- and creditor-directed transactions.
- Out-of-court distressed and event-driven sales
- Receivership and foreclosure sales
- Section 363 and court-supervised sales
- Stalking-horse positioning and bid procedures
- Assignments for the benefit of creditors
- Lender- and creditor-directed transactions
Run for companies, boards, lenders, and creditor constituencies, with diligence and marketing built to withstand scrutiny.
How an engagement runs
Four phases, run against the deadline that governs the situation.
No two special situations run to the same clock, so we do not publish typical timelines. What is constant is the sequence, and the fact that the first conversation establishes which deadline is real — a maturity, a forbearance expiry, a court date, or a cash-out date. Everything is scheduled backward from it.
Assess
Capital structure, collateral, liquidity, and the governing deadline. The output is a defensible view of the options that remain and what each one requires from lenders, buyers, and the court.
Position
Build the materials and diligence file a credit committee or an acquirer will actually underwrite from — not a marketing document. In distressed processes, the quality of the diligence file is what compresses the timeline.
Market
Approach a named, pre-qualified list of lenders or buyers simultaneously rather than sequentially. Competition, not optimism, is what moves terms in a situation the conventional market has already declined.
Close
Negotiate and document to close through whatever consent the structure requires: incumbent lender payoff or forbearance, creditor sign-off, bid procedures, or court approval.
Strategic affiliation
Harney Partners' 35+ years of restructuring expertise, paired with dedicated capital markets and sell-side execution.
One relationship gives a client both the operational work of a turnaround and the execution of a transaction.
Harney Capital
Special situations investment banking
- Boutique investment bank purpose-built for special situations and debt capital markets
- Executes capital markets and sell-side mandates for stressed and event-driven situations
- Direct access to institutional lenders, credit funds, and strategic and financial buyers
Harney Partners
Turnaround & restructuring advisory
- National corporate advisory firm, 35+ years serving middle-market companies and stakeholders
- Turnaround management, interim leadership, and in- and out-of-court restructurings
- A proprietary source of deal flow: long-standing relationships with lenders, attorneys, and sponsors
Direct lender relationships
Direct lenders, credit funds, specialty finance and ABL providers, SBIC funds, family offices, and sale-leaseback investors, engaged regularly rather than cold-called for a mandate.
Turnaround and transaction in one engagement
Operational stabilization and capital markets execution run by one team, with no hand-off between advisors mid-process.
A name lenders and counsel already know
A 35-year track record with lenders, sponsors, and restructuring counsel means a process arrives with standing, which shortens diligence.
Selected transactions
Special situations, distressed credit, and sell-side M&A executed by Harney professionals.
Refinancings, rescue capital, and court- and creditor-supervised sales across industrials, food, consumer, and logistics.
| Date | Mandate | Value | Role & sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| In process | Project Hercules ABL refinancing of a flavors and ingredients manufacturer |
$25M revolving facility | Debt Advisory · Food Ingredients |
| Feb 2026 | Project Electra Debt refinance of a precision manufacturer in aerospace and defense |
$65M unitranche | Debt Advisory · Industrials; Aero & Defense |
| Jan 2026 | Project Hades Debt refinance of a heat-treating company |
Senior debt facility | Debt Advisory · Industrials; Industrial Services |
| Sep 2025 | Project Castor Sale of a heat-treating plant to a private investment group |
Undisclosed | Sell Side · Industrials; Industrial Services |
| Jul 2025 | Project Polaris Asset sale through a Minnesota-compliant ABC process |
Undisclosed | Sell Side · Industrials; Metal Manufacturing |
| May 2025 | Project Meridian Debt refinance of a global logistics company |
$6M factoring facility | Debt Advisory · Industrials; Logistics |
| Nov 2024 | Project Summit Debt refinance of a consumer discretionary company |
$19M debt facility | Debt Advisory · Consumer Discretionary |
| Oct 2024Non-distressed | Project Catalyst Sale of a supplier of control transformers and power supplies to a private strategic investor |
Undisclosed | Sell Side · Industrials; Electrical Equipment |
| Jan 2021 | Project Keystone Sale of a railroad tie manufacturer to a private strategic investor |
Undisclosed | Sell Side · Industrials; Plastics Recycling |
| Jan 2021 | Project Evergreen Sale of a plastics recycling operation, auctioned to a private strategic investor |
Undisclosed | Sell Side · Industrials; Plastics Recycling |
Ten selected mandates shown. Unless noted, each was a special situations or distressed mandate. Transactions include those completed by Harney professionals while employed at other firms.
Industry coverage: Industrials · Engineering & Construction · Food & Agriculture · Consumer · Restaurants · Transportation & Logistics
Team
Senior bankers on every engagement, start to close.
No hand-offs to junior staff. The people who pitch the mandate are the people who run the process and sit across from lenders and buyers.
Eric Welchko
President
Mr. Welchko has advised owners, management teams, and boards for more than 20 years on mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, recapitalizations, and restructurings. His work spans industrials, food and ingredients, distribution, and business services, in both growth and distressed situations.
Transactions he has led include sell-side and distressed M&A, Section 363 and receivership sales, debt and equity capital raises, and business valuations.
Prior to Harney Capital, Mr. Welchko co-founded two investment banking platforms. His career combines investment banking and turnaround experience, and he advises clients on valuation, buyer and lender positioning, and negotiations with creditors and other stakeholders.
- Education
- Illinois State UniversityBS, Finance & Economics
- Based in
- Chicago, Illinois
Ben Gonzalez
Managing Director
Mr. Gonzalez represents creditors, boards, owners, and management teams in mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, and complex transaction structuring. He works across industrials, automotive, healthcare, media, and telecommunications, with particular experience in automotive supply, steel and metals, apparel manufacturing, hospital and behavioral health systems, and telecom infrastructure.
He has advised on several of the world’s largest corporate restructurings, including mandates addressing more than $12 billion of liabilities. His experience covers distressed M&A, Section 363 sales, in-court and out-of-court processes, and creditor committee representations.
Mr. Gonzalez has served as a start-up CFO and on private company boards.
- Education
- Harvard Business SchoolMBAUniversity of Texas at El PasoBBA, Finance
- Based in
- El Paso, Texas
Carl Esterhuysen, CFA
Director
Mr. Esterhuysen has spent more than two decades in equity capital markets, advising owners, management teams, and boards on mergers and acquisitions, equity capital raises, and complex transaction structuring.
He has extensive experience advising on public transactions.
Mr. Esterhuysen is a CFA charterholder with a chartered accounting background, and his experience includes building and operating his own businesses.
- Education
- University of StellenboschBachelor's, Accounting & Finance
- Based in
- Austin, Texas
Wade Horst, CFA
Director
Mr. Horst advises owners, management teams, and boards on mergers and acquisitions, refinancings, and restructurings across industrials, consumer, and healthcare end markets.
He has executed sell-side M&A, divisional divestitures, Section 363 and receivership sales, and balance sheet refinancings. His work was recognized with The M&A Advisor’s 2021 Refinancing of the Year award in the under-$100 million category.
Mr. Horst is a CFA charterholder, and his background spans corporate finance, institutional investing, and turnaround and restructuring.
- Education
- Southern Methodist UniversityMBAUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnBSBA, Finance
- Based in
- Dallas, Texas
Michael Lynch
Associate
Mr. Lynch advises owners, management teams, and boards on mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and complex transaction structures. His coverage is concentrated in industrials, with sub-vertical expertise across manufacturing, specialty contractors, construction materials, and heavy civil construction. Over the course of his career, Mr. Lynch has participated in over $500 million in closed transactions spanning sell-side M&A, buy-side advisory, ESOP transactions, and debt capital raises.
He brings a differentiated combination of M&A advisory and special situations experience, giving clients sophisticated perspectives on capital structuring and stakeholder complexity.
- Education
- University of Colorado BoulderBSBA, Finance
- Based in
- New York, New York
Gilberto Orozco
Senior Analyst
Mr. Orozco supports mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and valuation assignments for owners, management teams, and boards. His work is concentrated in financial services and valuation, with additional experience across technology, real estate private equity, venture capital, and commercial real estate.
He contributes to financial modeling, business valuation, and buy- and sell-side execution.
Prior to Harney Capital, Mr. Orozco worked in the Technology Group at Piper Sandler. He holds the FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 registrations, and speaks English and Spanish natively, with professional working proficiency in Italian.
- Education
- University of Texas at AustinBBA, FinanceCanfield Business Honors Program
- Based in
- Austin, Texas
Contact
Let's talk about the situations you're seeing.
Covenant defaults, maturity walls, lender exits, and distressed sale processes. Early conversations are the ones that create options.