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Thursday, March 18th, 2010

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Distress in the American Automotive Industry and the Ripple Effects

ACG Chicago recently recorded a podcast in which bankruptcy and auto industry experts Michael Eidelman and Erich Merkle discuss what might happen if General Motors files for bankruptcy.

Click Here for Audio

Our Panelists:

Michael M. Eidelman - Co-Chair, Corporate Reorganization, Bankruptcy & Insolvency Group, Vedder Price
Michael M. Eidelman is a shareholder at Vedder Price and a member of the firm's Corporate Practice Area. Mr. Eidelman concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and insolvency matters and has acted as lead counsel for debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, Chapter 7 and 11 Trustees, landlords, purchasers of assets, and creditors' and bondholders' committees. In addition, Mr. Eidelman has represented companies, creditors, court-appointed receivers and assignees for the benefit of creditors in out-of-court restructurings and liquidations. Mr. Eidelman also represents officers and directors of financially distressed companies. He has substantial litigation experience in all aspects of creditors' rights in both state and federal jurisdictions and in cross-border transactions in Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Eidelman is also a frequent speaker and author on numerous bankruptcy related issues. Mr. Eidelman was selected by his peers for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers 2007-2009 editions.

His client service work includes Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights, Bankruptcy Litigation, Corporate Reorganization, Secured Lending, and the Subprime Lending and Mortgage Task Force.

He holds a J.D. from DePaul University School of Law, 1987, and a B.G.S., University of Michigan, 1984.

Erich J. Merkle - Auto and Economic Analyst
Erich has been working in the auto industry as an economic and automotive forecaster for more than 10 years. He has authored numerous articles and often conducts economic and auto industry presentations around the country. He is regularly quoted in the news media including; The Detroit News/Free Press, The Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, The New York Times, and numerous trade journals. Erich is also frequently interviewed and asked to comment on various industry issues by television and radio news channels including: CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg TV/Radio, West Michigan media, NPR, WWJ, and the BBC.

Many of Erich’s projections and trend assessments have proven to be highly accurate over the years. He takes into account an appropriate mix of both quantitative and qualitative variables and understands their impact on the economic and automotive landscapes. This approach has made his presentations both informative and insightful to industry executives, investors, and analysts. Erich was one of the few analysts to correctly call the economic downturn at the beginning of 2007, by properly assessing and understanding the impact of the housing correction and its correlation to the broader macro economy. He was on record early last year warning that deflation (not inflation), coupled with a slowdown in global economic growth, would likely become the primary concern of central banks by the end of 2008. Erich is an avid student of economic and automotive history and is commonly quoted as saying that; “What I want to happen and what I believe will happen are often different. People need to know what I believe will happen.” It is this pragmatic approach to history and data analysis that has made many of Erich’s assessments so accurate over the years. Erich believes that human emotions too often get in the way of sound analysis.

Erich graduated from the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program at Wayne State University in 1990. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business (B.B.A.) from Eastern Michigan University in 1989. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Analysts, and was the two time winner of the Society’s 2004 and 2007 vehicle production forecast contests in which SAA Automotive Outlook Conference attendees are judged on the basis of their North American light vehicle production forecast accuracy submitted a year earlier. Erich resides in Grand Rapids, MI with his wife and two daughters.