Contrarian Capital Management LLC
Established in 1995 by Jon Bauer, Janice Stanton and Gil Tenzer, Contrarian is a distressed investing specialist with one of the most stable portfolio management teams in the industry. The portfolio invests in global distressed opportunities including; bank debt, trade claims, senior bonds, debt backed by real estate, direct “rescue” financing, and post reorganized equity. The strategy focuses on opportunities in the $5 to $50 million range, generally senior in the capital structure. Contrarian seeks to: Buy sub and non-performing whole loans at a discount Acquire partial or participation interests of syndicated mortgage facilities Selectively provide ‘white-knight’ financing to qualified borrowers, often to complete a discounted payoff of an existing mortgage
Investment Type
| Securities |
| Debt |
| Loan Assumptions |
Investment Style
| Opportunistic |
Typical Deal Size
| $10,000,000 - $50,000,000 |
Benjamin Sarly
- 1 203 862 8264
- bsarly@contrariancapital.com
Gil Tenzer
Mr. Tenzer is a founding member of Contrarian and the Portfolio Manager of the firm’s real estate fund series. Since Contrarian’s formation in 1995, Mr. Tenzer has been responsible for sourcing, managing and coordinating the disposition of the Firm’s real estate investments, as well as taking an active role in Contrarian’s corporate investments. Mr. Tenzer has chaired and served on several creditor and unofficial bondholder committees. Prior to co-founding Contrarian, from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Tenzer served as Co-Head of the High-Yield Real Estate Group at Oppenheimer & Co. (“Oppenheimer”), as well as a Senior Analyst at the firm. Prior to Oppenheimer, Mr. Tenzer worked at Arthur G. Cohen and was responsible for the analysis, financing, acquisition, disposition, restructuring and asset management of a nationwide portfolio of investments in the real estate, lodging, restaurant, aviation, and manufacturing industries. Mr. Tenzer received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a BS in Business Administration cum laude from Georgetown University.
Jon Bauer
Mr. Bauer is a founding member and CEO/CIO of Contrarian Capital Management, L.L.C. and leads the firm’s corporate investment activities. Mr. Bauer has over thirty years’ experience investing in both active and passive distressed securities. He has headed or served on numerous bank debt, bond, or trade claims committees and is a founding member of the Trade Claims Buyers Association. He has served on a number of Board of Directors including International Coal and Special Metals Corp. From 1986 until 1995, Mr. Bauer was a Managing Director at Oppenheimer and Co. where he founded the distressed sales and trading business and was the co-Portfolio Manager of the Oppenheimer Horizon distressed securities partnerships which commenced operations in 1987. From 1981 to 1986, he was the Senior Analyst in the Bankruptcy Group at Bear Stearns where he originated and helped execute the successful control investment in Revere Copper and Brass. From 1977 to 1979, Mr. Bauer was an Analyst in the Credit Audit Department of The Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. and was responsible for identifying companies in the Bank’s loan portfolio that were likely to default. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA (with Honors) from Rutgers College.
Ken Ageloff
- 1 203 862 8220
- kageloff@contrariancapital.com
Mr. Ageloff joined Contrarian in 2000 and is the Director of Investor Relations. Prior to joining Contrarian, Mr. Ageloff was CFO for Touchstone Capital from 1998‐2000. Prior experience in the financial services industry includes two years with Goldman Sachs & Co. as a Senior Accountant, two years with Paloma Partners as an Accounting Manager, and four years with Morgens, Waterfall, Vintiadis and Company as Assistant Controller. Mr. Ageloff received a B.S. from the University of Virginia.
Michael Restifo
Mr. Restifo is Contrarian’s Chief Operating Officer and has been Chief Financial Officer of Contrarian since inception in 1995. Mr. Restifo started working with the Firm’s senior management team while at Oppenheimer & Co. in 1992, and prior to joining Oppenheimer Mr. Restifo was CFO for Kaufman, Alsberg, & Co. from 1990‐1992. Prior positions also include Controller of Jaime Securities and as Audit Manager for Spicer & Oppenheim. Mr. Restifo received a BBA from the University of Miami. He is also a CPA.
Janice Stanton
Ms. Stanton is a founding member and President of Contrarian Capital Management, L.L.C. She works closely with Jon Bauer on the firm’s corporate investments activities, with a particular focus on senior secured corporate investments. She has 26 years of experience in distressed securities. Prior to co-founding Contrarian, Ms. Stanton was the Founder and Head of the Bank Debt and Trade Claims desk at Oppenheimer & Co. from 1986-1995, and was responsible for bank debt and trade claim investments in the Oppenheimer Horizon partnerships as well as for outside clients. From 1985-1986, she was an Associate in the Corporate Finance Department of Lehman Brothers (“Lehman”) and worked on equity and debt financings as well as the first principal LBO investment made by Lehman. Prior to business school, Ms. Stanton was an Analyst with Booz Allen Hamilton, focusing on business strategy consulting. She has served on numerous bank debt committees, including Audio Visual Services, Pillowtex and Warnaco. She has also chaired and served on Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors, such as in the case of Service Merchandise and Edison Brothers. Ms. Stanton received her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and graduated magna cum laude with a BS from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Stanton is a CFA charterholder.
John Bauer