Marblegate Asset Management

Do the recent bankruptcies of First Brands and Tricolor Holdings point to deeper vulnerabilities in the private credit market or reflect a rare aberration detached from the fundamentals? Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram spoke with Fortune about Wall Street’s growing scrutiny of private credit as rapid growth and limited oversight test the market’s resilience. As the article highlights, the shift from lending out of regulated banking into unregulated channels has arguably lowered guardrails and intensified competition in ways that can obscure credit quality and loosen standards across both private and public markets. “Anyone who has any amount of meaningful exposure to corporate credit markets, and in particularly the leveraged loan corporate credit markets, should be re-examining their portfolio in excruciating detail at this moment and really thinking hard about the quality of the underwriting that has gone into making those loans and the veracity of the reporting that supports their understanding of the performance of the business.” Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e43EvG9k

Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram spoke with the Financial Times about rising vulnerabilities in the $2tn leveraged loan and CLO markets following the abrupt collapse of First Brands Group. He noted that stress has been building beneath the surface for more than a year as rapid deal execution and weaker investor protections have allowed risk to accumulate largely unchecked. The sudden failure of First Brands — coming on the heels of Tricolor’s bankruptcy — is raising broader concerns about the durability of the assumptions underpinning credit markets. “With [Tricolor] and First Brands, the problems of the credit market are starting to percolate into the general Wall Street psyche,” Milgram said. “Are we entering a period where those [CLO market’s] assumptions will be tested?” Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gPyMQk-D

Putting boots on the ground, analyzing data, and examining every dimension of the problem to inform ourselves about the other person’s needs are what distinguish Marblegate’s investment approach. During his recent appearance on the Invest Like The Best podcast, Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram discussed our core investing principles including the importance of primary research and why negotiations can’t be approached as a zero-sum game.   “Lots of the investments that we‘ve made, the management teams have said, well you are the first lender ever to show up and see the facility.”   Watch the full episode for an in-depth conversation about how Marblegate’s data-driven investment approach allows us to gain a unique understanding of the businesses we invest in and supports our efforts to structure deals that result in favorable outcomes for both sides.   https://lnkd.in/e8yD9VDc 

On the Invest Like The Best podcast, Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram highlighted a trend we’ve been tracking closely: persistently weak interest coverage among U.S. middle market companies, with many simply unable to pay their bills. Due in large part to these cash flow problems, in 2024 business bankruptcies hit a 14-year high, and the data for the first half of 2025 indicate an even greater level of distress.    “Based on the data we see to date and the bankruptcies that we’ve already seen in 2025, we would expect 2025 to show persistent and possibly a higher number of bankruptcy filings.” Watch the full episode for more analysis about the exceptional opportunity to reset capital structures and manage a substantive retooling in how these companies conduct business: https://lnkd.in/e8yD9VDc 

Middle market companies often don’t serve the end consumer—they serve larger public companies that have pricing power over their customers and their supply chains. As a result, costs and financing pressures get pushed down onto middle market companies, while profits accumulate at the top.   Invest Like The Best podcast host Patrick O'Shaughnessy observed that “It’s like a corporate class system,” while Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram affirmed that “The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.” Such a deep structural divergence in the economy offers a compelling investment opportunity for skilled value investors.   Watch the full episode for more insight on Marblegate’s approach and our opportunity set: https://lnkd.in/e8yD9VDc 

In his recent appearance on the Invest Like The Best podcast, Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram breaks down a concept our firm thinks about constantly: the K-shaped economy.   While equity markets touch new highs and credit spreads approach recent lows, our analysis shows an increasingly urgent disconnect between the perception of robust corporate performance and the reality in the U.S. middle market. In other words, some large well-resourced companies are driving unbelievable profits, while broad swaths of the economy are struggling.   Watch Andrew unpack the structural gaps caused by the K-shaped economy and the opportunity for restructuring-oriented investors on the Invest Like The Best podcast: https://lnkd.in/e8yD9VDc

Our new analysis of financial data from more than 1,200 private companies with annual revenues of $100-750 million shows an increasingly urgent disconnect between perception and reality in the U.S. private middle market. The data, developed in partnership with RapidRatings, shows that while public company peers have grown stronger in recent years, the private companies saw a 23% decline in enterprise value and a 126% increase in leverage on average. Many are quick to point out that earnings are up, but Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram spoke with FundFire about the dynamics playing out beneath the surface, including shrinking EBITDA and a crippling inability to access capital. More than 1 in 5 of the companies analyzed carry coverage ratios of less than 1, meaning they aren’t generating enough income to cover their interest payments. At Marblegate, we spend time on the ground with companies, working with them to reset compromised capital structures and manage a substantive retooling in how these companies conduct business. https://lnkd.in/e_hgtjGv

Today, Marblegate announced the hiring of Suleman Lunat as a Managing Director. Suleman has more than 30 years of experience in special situations and private credit with senior roles at Brean and Apollo, and as co-founder of M3 Partners. In his new role, he will support Marblegate's research, restructuring, and value creation and sourcing teams, and enhance the firm's ability to drive outcomes in overlooked and undervalued companies and assets. Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Andrew Milgram said: “I’ve known Suleman for more than 20 years – his experience catalyzing complex transactions fits Marblegate’s approach and will further enhance our ability to produce uncorrelated outcomes and pursue opportunities that other firms cannot.” Please join us in welcoming Suleman to his new role! https://lnkd.in/etEEjWBJ

Marblegate CIO and Managing Partner Andrew Milgram joined Patrick O'Shaughnessy on the “Invest Like the Best” podcast for an in depth discussion that highlighted our specialized approach to middle market investing and the sectors presenting unique opportunities. Andrew also discussed Marblegate’s new analysis showing further deterioration in the financial health of a large swath of middle market companies, including how declining EBITDA and a crippling inability to access capital are fueling a “K-shaped economy." Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e8yD9VDc

For the past 8 weeks, we have had the pleasure of collaborating with a group of exceptionally talented young leaders through our 2025 Summer Intern Program. Marblegate’s summer internship offers college students a unique opportunity to collaborate with senior leadership and gain hands-on experience working on alternative and special situation projects as we strive to create value for our investors and drive our business forward. Thank you to each one of our interns for the ideas and contributions they brought to our firm this summer: Max Chasin - University of Chicago Kayden Flather - Colby College Nick Koziolek - Harvard Business School Caroline Lazar - Bucknell University Aiden Lenox - NYU Stern School of Business Jackson Morse - Auburn University