Investment bank Piper Sandler has added two new managing directors that will lead a new group focused on distressed debt and special assets.
The distressed debt and special asset group will source and trade specialized credit products, including distressed assets, trade and insurance claims, reorganized equity and other securities issued by companies facing financial stress.
John Mori and Eric Friel have been brought in to lead this new group. Mori and Friel join the firm from Oppenheimer, where Mori was co-head of distressed debt and Friel was head of high-yield and distressed research. Before Oppenheimer they both had previously worked for Cowen and Company.
“We are excited to welcome John and Eric to our fixed income team. Their strong relationships and deep understanding of special assets and distressed credit introduce a highly complementary capability to our platform. This expansion represents a significant value-add, allowing us to offer clients access to unique investment opportunities we haven’t previously covered,” Michael Piper, the head of fixed income at Piper Sandler, to whom Mori and Friel will report.
Mori received a bachelor’s degree from Providence College, while Friel received a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Current market volatility and regulatory shifts are creating dislocation in the distressed space. With John and Eric leading this new group, we are well-positioned to help investors navigate these turbulent markets. We expect this team to add tremendous value as we broaden our product depth with a wide cross section of institutional clients,” Chris O’Brien, head of credit trading at Piper Sandler, said.
Mori will be based in Greenwich and Friel will be in New York.
“We are thrilled to bring our expertise to an industry-leading platform like Piper Sandler. The firm’s deeply ingrained client-first culture is what ultimately drew us here. We are looking forward to leveraging the strength of the broader Piper Sandler network to provide institutional investors with unique, actionable opportunities in the distressed debt space,” Mori said.
Additional new hires will be announced in the coming weeks and months. The group will also work in partnership with the firm’s investment banking, capital markets and restructuring teams.