Asset management firm to buy bankrupt Greenwich Investment Management

Principal Street Partners, a Memphis-based investment firm, will acquire the clients of a bankrupt money manager that specialized in buying high-yield bonds issued for senior living facilities and charter schools.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in the Middle District of Florida on Thursday approved the sale of Greenwich Investment Management to PSP, which runs high-yield and distressed muni separately managed accounts. 

PSP, the sole qualified bidder, agreed to pay GIM $25,000 and 15% of management fees collected from GIM clients who sign new contracts for a period of three years after the sale closes. PSP had about $2.9 billion of assets under management as of Dec. 31 2023, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

James A. West, chief executive officer of PSP, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Norwalk, Connecticut-based GIM had gross income of $4.4 million in 2023, according to bankruptcy filings. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in May amid mounting legal costs over defaulted high-yield muni bonds. About 20 senior living bond issues held by GIM were in default as of March 2023, as the pandemic increased costs for staff and protective equipment and reduced occupancy. 

GIM oversaw about $590 million of assets at the end of 2023, but that has dwindled to roughly $250 million, according to bankruptcy trustee Michael Markham. In October, the judge overseeing the case removed GIM and its 86-year-old president L. George Rieger as the debtor in possession and appointed Markham to control the firm’s operations. Rieger, who owns 85% of GIM, did not comment on the sale. 

Peter L’H Courtney, former GIM president who joined PSP in September, owns 15% of GIM and is also a creditor in the bankruptcy case.