Third Avenue Management [profile] just teamed up with the "architect of the U.S. government's successful restructuring of its loans and investment in AIG." On Wednesday the New York City-based Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) affiliate unveiled a partnership with former U.S. Treasury chief restructuring officer Jim Millstein and an investment in his New York and Washington, D.C.-based firm, Millstein & Co..

Millstein & Co. offers financial and strategic advice during restructurings, and will also invest in them. Prior to joining the U.S. Treasury, Millstein co-headed the restructuring group at Lazard Freres.

David Barse, CEO of Third Avenue, praised Millstein as "one of the most accomplished and respected professionals in the workout business."

"Jim will immediately add to our historic ability to analyze and evaluate distressed situations for investment purposes," Barse stated, "and he will bring a new dimension to our ability to take a leadership role in such situations to maximize investment returns for our clients in many of our products."

Millstein, for his part, described Third Avenue as "an ideal partner for me in trying to raise capital and design and implement capital solutions for companies in distress."

"Third Avenue's strategic investment in Millstein & Co. will also help accelerate the build-out of our advisory business," Millstein added.

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Company Press Release

Third Avenue Management Partners with Jim Millstein and Millstein & Co.

February 15, 2012, New York, NY – Third Avenue Management LLC, an investment adviser to private and institutional clients, today announced that the firm has joined forces with Jim Millstein, former Chief Restructuring Officer of the U.S. Department of Treasury and architect of the U.S. Government’s successful restructuring of its loans and investment in AIG, moving forward together on several business endeavors.

Leveraging Third Avenue’s long history and deep experience in distressed investing, Mr. Millstein is partnering with Third Avenue to create new investment products and strategies focused on companies experiencing some form of financial distress. In addition, Third Avenue has become an equity investor in Millstein & Co. With offices in New York and Washington, DC, Millstein & Co. was recently formed to provide financial and strategic advice in special situations, restructurings and recapitalization transactions.

In making the announcement, David Barse, Third Avenue’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Jim Millstein. Jim is one of the most accomplished and respected professionals in the workout business, and his recent work for our government to help the U.S. through a crisis provides him with invaluable additional experience and expertise. His success in restructuring the government’s investment in AIG, a behemoth multi- national company, makes him uniquely qualified to advise on the complex, global corporate restructurings that will take place over the course of the next decade in the wake of the current economic turmoil.” He added, “Jim will immediately add to our historic ability to analyze and evaluate distressed situations for investment purposes, and he will bring a new dimension to our ability to take a leadership role in such situations to maximize investment returns for our clients in many of our products.”

Commenting on the new venture, Mr. Millstein said, “Marty Whitman is a legend in the restructuring business. Third Avenue’s expertise in distressed investing and the firm’s entrepreneurial environment make Third Avenue an ideal partner for me in trying to raise capital and design and implement capital solutions for companies in distress. Third Avenue’s strategic investment in Millstein & Co. will also help accelerate the build-out of our advisory business.”

Prior to serving at the Treasury Department, Mr. Millstein spent 27 years in the private sector working on some of the biggest restructurings in history. As Global Co-Head of the Restructuring Group at Lazard Frères & Co., he managed restructurings for a diverse array of clients, including Charter Communications, the Republic of Argentina and the United Auto Workers. As a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Mr. Millstein represented Daewoo Corporation, EuroDisney and Pan American in their financial restructurings.

ABOUT MILLSTEIN & CO.

Millstein & Co. was recently formed to provide financial and strategic advice in special situations, restructurings and recapitalization transactions and invest in such transactions with its own capital or together with third-party investors, where requested or appropriate. www.millsteinandco.com

ABOUT THIRD AVENUE MANAGEMENT

Third Avenue Management LLC is a New York-based investment advisory firm that offers its services to private and institutional clients. Third Avenue adheres to a disciplined bottom-up value investment strategy, to identify investment opportunities in undervalued securities of companies with high quality assets, understandable businesses and strong management teams that have the potential to create value over the long term. www.thirdave.com

 

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