DISTRESSED INVESTMENT
MANNA-HATA 1609
In 1609, Henry Hudson was an Englishman working for the Dutch West India Company. He was looking for a new route to Asia when sailing down the river that would one day bear his name.
The Lenape people native to the area called the island Manna-hata (‘a thicket where wood can be found to make bows’). Looking to trade, they welcomed the Europeans to their home.
Within a few years, the Dutch built a town at the southern tip of the island and called it New Amsterdam.
Then they built a wall 12 feet tall to keep the Lenape out.
MANNA-HATA 1629
A Dutchman named Peter Minuit arrived in 1626.
In 1629, Minuit bought the island for 60 guilders — about 24 dollars (in today’s money, roughly the cost of an iPhone).
Manna-hata became Manhattan and, after the British seized it in 1864, New Amsterdam became New York (named after the Duke of York).
The river became the Hudson. The 12 feet high wall became Wall Street, the road north from the star-shaped Fort Amsterdam became Broadway.
Manhattan became the greatest distressed investment in history.
DISTRESSED INVESTMENT
Nowadays, distressed investment funds target undervalued companies or assets facing financial hardship, operational disruption, or economic downturns.
The core strategy revolves around acquiring debt or equity at significant discounts, with the objective of generating outsized returns through restructuring, turning things around or selling the asset.
Active involvement is key.
Fund managers often engage with management, creditors, and legal advisors to influence restructuring outcomes and protect investor interests. In jurisdictions where creditor rights are strong, the fund may gain control of restructured companies, unlocking long-term value as a turnaround investor.
Risk management is critical.
The fund conducts deep due diligence, legal and financial analysis, plus scenario modelling to assess recovery value and downside protection. Diversification across sectors, geographies, and distress types —opportunistic, strategic or cyclical — mitigates risk even more.
This strategy thrives during economic cycles marked by tightening liquidity, rising defaults, or sector-specific dislocation.
While inherently high-risk, distressed investing offers alpha for experienced managers who can navigate complexity, legal frameworks, and timing with discipline and precision.
TROUBLE HUNTERS
At Aithon, we don’t run from trouble — we hunt in it.
The strategy?
Target troubled assets.
When the market panics, we lean in, buying what others are desperate to sell.
We’re not just buying cheap — we’re buying control, debt often becoming equity. We get a seat at the table during restructuring, influence outcomes and, sometimes, take over the whole show.
Post-turnaround, we sell — or ride the recovery for serious upside.
CREATE THE CATALYST
Think of it as value investing with an edge. We don’t wait for markets — we create the catalyst.
This isn’t a ‘one and done’ either.
It’s deep dive territory — forensic analysis, legal jujitsu and hands-on engagement with management and key stakeholders. We price every risk, model every scenario, and execute only when the reward outweighs the chaos.
Risk?
Real, but so is the potential.
When markets tighten, defaults rise and fear takes over, that’s our moment. While others flee, we’re buying quality hidden under crisis.
We spread investment across sectors and regions to manage volatility, but the goal always stays the same — buy low, fix it, exit high.
Distressed investing is messy, complex and massively rewarding for those who know how to play it.
Aithon is built to do just that.
postscript: MANNA-HATA REDUX
The British removed the 12 feet wall in 1699, but the name remained. In 1792, Wall Street opened New York’s first stock exchange.
The rest is history.
Historians now wonder whether the Lenape people meant to sell Manhattan.
Cultural differences on ownership and property rights may have confused the trade. The Lenape probably intended to rent or lease Manhattan to the Dutch — like Britain’s 99-year lease on Hong Kong.
Dixon, CHAIRMAN