The situation

The First Brands bankruptcy has been one of the most significant distressed situation in 2025: fast-moving, complex, and opaque in structure.

Throughout the the saga, 9fin provided high-quality, comprehensive news that provided the valuable intel and context clients need to stay ahead.

Coverage highlights: prepetition

• 4 July 2025 | 9fin flagged First Brands’s aggressive debt-funded acquisition strategy when the company sought to do a regular way refinancing deal.
• 4 August 2025 | 9fin reported on stalled refinancing efforts, giving clients a valuable look into structural vulnerabilities before the chaos.
• 18 Sep 2025 | Exclusively reported that First Brands was working with Lazard while lenders engaged Evercore and Gibson Dunn.

Breaking developments

Throughout the saga, 9fin posted consistent coverage on various creditor groups dynamics, teasing out the key players involved and their incentives. Plus, we analysed CLO exposure implications and recovery scenarios.

• 22 Sep 2025 | First to report the quantum of potential DIP financing
• 25 Sep 2025 | Scooped that Apollo had an early look into First Brands’ unconventional financial arrangements
• 25 Sep 2025 | Unveiled that certain lenders decided to offload their positions after being restricted, reflecting their confidence in First Brands
• 30 Sep 2025 | Highlighted unequal treatment among TL lenders in the DIP
• 30 Sep 2025 | QuickTake | Compiled the signature day-one analysis, our Bankruptcy QuickTake, to capture First Brands, overwhelmed by ~$6.1bn in debt, tariffs, and factoring issues, entered Chapter 11 with a $1.1bn DIP facility to stabilize the business.

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Comprehensive day-one intelligence

Delivered multi-layered coverage as the situation unfolded, with more analysis to come as the case progresses.

• 1 Oct 2025 | First Brands ad hoc group largest holders led by Marathon, Beach Point, Redwood
• 1 Oct 2025 | First Brands DIP objections begin to pile up prior to hearing
• 1 Oct 2025 | Inside the composition of the First Brands ad hoc group
• 1 Oct 2025 | First Brands secures interim approval of DIP order as negotiations continue
• 1 Oct 2025 | A look at Apollo’s First Brands short — what happened here?

Ongoing coverage: the story behind the story

When events like First Brands happen, we don't just go after the biggest headlines — we go after all of it. Sophisticated analyses that provide context and help clients understand developments within the market:

• 2 Oct 2025 | First Brands — Waterfall Scenarios: Illustrative analysis looking at different EBITDA multiples and ranges, examining first lien, second lien obligations, new DIP and rollup
• 2 Oct 2025 | BDC exposure to First Brands — tracking which were in or out before collapse
• 7 Oct 2025 | First Brands unequal roll-up beware
• 8 Oct 2025 | Navigating the triple-Cs — CLOs absorb First Brands blow

For access to any of the articles mentioned above, sign up for a free trial of 9fin.

Digging deeper: The First Brands files — webinar

Max Frumes, 9fin’s Global Head of Distressed and Restructuring, ran a webinar to examine the key players, controversial financing structures, and critical legal questions shaping the First Brands Group bankruptcy.

Click here to access the recording or here to read the key takeaways.

The information edge

First Brands is emblematic of how 9fin approaches every material distressed situation: delivering comprehensive coverage from early warnings through recovery analysis.

With private credit now at $1.6T and growing, complex, opaque structures with limited disclosure will only become more common. In this new normal, source quality, sustained coverage and superior analytics matter more than ever.

Through 9fin, clients have the resources they need to make informed decisions faster—which explains why over 250 firms use 9fin to stay on top of distressed and restructuring news.

Want to join them? Get in touch for a free trial.