Specialized financing company Greensill Capital headed for a quick runoff after Credit Suisse Group AG suspended $ 10 billion in investment funds that fueled the start-up of SoftBank Group Corp.
With a key source of frozen funding, Greensill has appointed Grant Thornton to guide it through a possible restructuring and could apply for insolvency, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy, in a few days, according to people familiar with the company.
Greensill simultaneously holds talks with private equity giant Apollo Global Management Inc. to sell its operating business for about $ 100 million, according to people familiar with the talks. While a deal would not be for all of Greensill’s assets, the amount represents a bit of its $ 4 billion maximum valuation.
Greensill, based in the UK, is an idea of the former financier of Citigroup Inc. and Lex Stanley Greensill. Founded in 2011, Greensill specializes in an area known as supply chain financing, a form of short-term cash advance that allows companies to extend the time they have to pay their bills.
Greensill packs these cash advances into securities similar to bonds that give investors a higher return than they could get from bank deposits. Credit Suisse funds were the main buyer of these securities, which gave Greensill firepower to expand its business. Investors in the funds include pensions, corporate treasurers and wealthy families.