EQT and IDG Shortlisted for Next Round of Bidding in PolyPeptide Bankruptcy Sale Process
Private equity firm EQT and IDG have been shortlisted to proceed to the next bidding round in the sale process for PolyPeptide, a contract drug ingredient manufacturer that entered bankruptcy proceedings. The shortlisting narrows the field of bidders as the insolvency estate moves towards a structured sale, which will require court supervision and creditor consent in the relevant bankruptcy jurisdiction. The PolyPeptide process is proceeding against the backdrop of broader stress in the private credit market: Apollo Global Management has confirmed it is in active talks to sell its publicly traded BDC (business development company — a type of publicly listed investment vehicle that lends to mid-size companies) MidCap Financial Investment Corp. for approximately $3 billion, as MFIC's default rate climbed to 5.3% in Q1 2026. BlackRock and KKR have separately gated — meaning temporarily suspended redemptions from — their largest non-traded BDCs, indicating that stress is not confined to a single vehicle.
Why this matters
Competitive bidding for distressed assets by EQT and IDG illustrates continued private equity appetite for buying assets through bankruptcy processes, where structural protections and court-supervised auctions can provide cleaner title than negotiated transactions. The broader private credit deterioration — Apollo selling MFIC at below historical NAV (net asset value — the per-share value of a fund's assets minus its liabilities), BDC gating — signals that the 2023–2024 credit cycle stress is materialising in realised losses rather than just mark-to-market concerns. For disputes and restructuring practices, this environment generates sustained deal flow in distressed M&A, inter-creditor negotiation, and bankruptcy court proceedings.
On the Ground
A trainee on a bankruptcy sale process would assist with disclosure review and categorisation of documents relevant to the court-supervised auction, prepare chronologies of key creditor claims, and help with trial bundle pagination if the process becomes contested. They would also assist with court filing and service of relevant procedural documents.
Interview prep
Soundbite
Court-supervised bankruptcy auctions give PE bidders like EQT cleaner title than negotiated distressed deals — process integrity is the core legal value-add.
Question you might get
“What advantages does a bankruptcy court-supervised sale process offer a potential acquirer compared to purchasing a distressed asset through a private negotiation?”
Full answer
EQT and IDG have been shortlisted for PolyPeptide's bankruptcy sale process, a structure that uses court supervision to bind all creditors and provide the winning bidder with title free of most pre-existing claims. This matters because the alternative — a negotiated out-of-court deal — would leave the buyer exposed to creditor challenges that a court-approved sale forecloses. The broader context is a private credit market under genuine stress, with Apollo publicly marketing a flagship BDC at below NAV and BlackRock and KKR gating redemptions — signals that suggest distressed deal flow will remain elevated through 2026 and beyond. I would expect restructuring and disputes practices at firms with strong insolvency capability to see a material uptick in mandates over the next 18 months as this cycle matures.
Sources
My notes
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