Emerge to Grow℠: An FTI Consulting Report

Market Insights and Playbook for Achieving Profitability and Sustainable Growth Post-Bankruptcy

The bankruptcy process has many legal and practical limitations and may not position an emergent company to realize its full potential post-bankruptcy. The insights in this report can help stakeholders make more informed decisions and challenge commonly held assumptions and norms about bankruptcy that might not be relevant to their situations, using the insights and lessons learned from the FTI Consulting market study to achieve the best possible outcomes during and after a bankruptcy.

These findings will likely be especially valuable for companies in bankruptcy proceedings, helping them develop smarter emergence strategies and position themselves for profitable and sustainable growth.

Bankruptcy Landscape Analysis

Based on our research, there were 665 Chapter 11 bankruptcies filed from January 2019 through May 2021. This analysis focuses on the 358 filings that involved liabilities of at least $50 million at filing. The liability threshold was chosen to provide insights about larger companies with more complex businesses, capital structures and scale.

Emergence Market Survey

To gain real-world, quantifiable insights about the bankruptcy process — and how companies are planning to grow and thrive after they emerge from bankruptcy — FTI Consulting conducted a market survey of 50 business leaders from large companies with direct experience going through Chapter 11. Many of the survey questions focused on the five core business dimensions of capital, cost, growth, technology and talent — and how those dimensions related to the bankruptcy process.

The FTI Consulting Emergence Playbook℠

In bankruptcy, a company has unique opportunities to focus on the more profitable aspects of its business and create a stronger foundation for healthy, sustainable growth. FTI Consulting has created a practical Emergence Playbook^℠ to help companies quickly develop effective strategies, plans and business/operating models that address all five of the core performance dimensions.