# Peter S. Kaufman

Peter S. Kaufman is an American investment banker and private equity investor. He is the President and Head of Restructuring and Distressed M&A at Gordian Group LLC, an investment banking firm. He is also a Managing Partner of Bacchus Capital Management, a winery investment concern.

## Career

Kaufman practiced law in New York City before going into investment banking. Leaving the First Boston Corporation as a Vice-President, Kaufman joined Gordian Group LLC, an investment bank specializing in distressed and/or complex financial challenges. Along with CEO Henry Furlow Owsley III, Kaufman is co-author of major works in the field, Distressed Investment Banking: To The Abyss and Back - Second Edition, Beard Books 2015, Equity Holders Under Siege: Strategies and Tactics for Distressed Businesses, Beard Books LLC, 2014 and Distressed Investment Banking: To The Abyss and Back, Beard Books 2005.
He is a Contributor to SportsIllustrated.com/Morning Read on golf. Kaufman had an article selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the ‘best golf reads’ in each of 2021 and 2022.
He has been the nation's most frequent commentator on national television regarding restructurings and distressed financial matters, as well as economic policy issues. He has been called the "Nastiest Man in Restructuring" by financial creditors and recognized by the media as "a top restructuring and distressed debt expert." Kaufman has appeared on, among others, Yahoo! Finance discussing the future and whether more companies will file for Chapter 11, Healthcare Bailouts and Hertz Trying to Sell Equity, the COVID-19 government bailout, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNN (including Anderson Cooper 360), Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business, NBC (Today Show) and WSJ TV, on matters relating to insolvency, corporate reorganization, federal "bailout" issues and broader stimulus and economic issues, including General Motors (GM), Chrysler and British Petroleum (BP), American Airlines & Hostess Brands, as well as municipal and state insolvency issues. He also discusses private equity on television and elsewhere. He is often cited in leading publications and international news sources such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, and was the subject of a Bloomberg feature.
Kaufman's investment banking practice primarily encompasses advising Boards of Directors, private equity firms, and buyers and sellers of distressed, stressed or "story" situations. Because it does not represent creditors, Gordian is able to achieve meaningful equity recoveries in insolvent situations. In 2013, he testified in front of the ABI Commission on Bankruptcy Reform in regards to valuation. At Bacchus Capital, he is actively involved in the fund's selection and oversight of portfolio company wineries.

## Professional recognition

Peter Kaufman and his work have been featured in Bloomberg News.
In The Deal financial restructuring league tables, Kaufman is consistently named one of the country's top 10 restructuring investment bankers, and has been ranked #1.
The industry organization, M&A Advisor awarded Gordian Group LLC as Boutique Investment Bank of the Year award for the ninth time in fourteen years. Gordian Group was named a winner for the Out-Of-Court Restructuring of the Year (Over $100MM): Restructuring and Sale of Trans Energy, Inc.; and Cross-Border Restructuring Deal of the Year (Under $1B): Cross-Border Restructuring of Alphatec. It also awarded Gordian on behalf of their restructurings of Jobson Medical Holdings (Professional Services category) and Elyria Foundry (Industrial, Manufacturing & Distribution category). In 2014, the University of Virginia awarded him an honorary appointment as a Visiting Executive Lecturer at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
Kaufman was honored with the 2015 M&A Advisor Leadership Award for his contribution to and accomplishments in the industry at the 9th Annual Turnaround Awards Gala in Palm Beach, FL. Later that year, Kaufman was inducted into the M&A Advisor Hall of Fame at the 14th Annual M&A Advisor Awards Gala in New York City.

## Publications

* Co-author, "Warnings Persist for Corporate Directors Evaluating LBO and Other Multi-Step Transactions" (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, July 21, 2021) https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/07/21/warnings-persist-for-corporate-directors-evaluating-lbo-and-other-multi-step-transactions/
* Co-author, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back - Second Edition(Frederick, Md.: Beard Books, 2015)
* Co-author, Equity Holders under Siege: Strategies and Tactics for Distressed Businesses.(Frederick, Md.: Beard Books, 2014)
* Co-author, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back.(Frederick, Md.: Beard Books LLC, 2005)
* Co-author, "The Role of the Investment Banker," in Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions (New York: Lex Med Publishing, 1998)
* Co-author, "Trading in the Distressed Market," in Investing in Bankruptcies and Turnarounds (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991)