Michael Holmberg, the founder of Newberry Capital Management in Chicago, closed down the distressed-debt investment shop recently, returned assets to its mainly institutional clients and joined the Windy City office of the fixed-income operation of Neuberger Berman Group, bringing his team of four veteran bond managers with him.
Holmberg, 48, will manage publicly traded senior secured debt of companies in default, a market he says is worth about $225 billion. By hiring him, New York–based Neuberger, the former investment management division of the bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings that successfully staged a management buyout less than six months ago, seems to be making the most of the U.S. financial crisis by expanding into an asset class that’s drawing investors. “From where we sit that is a compelling market opportunity,” Holmberg says.
