Byline: Keith Naughton
Investors had hoped to make a quick buck in ailing Detroit by 'stripping and flipping.' No such luck.
Last month in a large conference room at a white-shoe law firm in New York, a group of power brokers gathered to bail out bankrupt auto-parts maker Delphi Corp. After more than two years of battles, Delphi had finally arranged $6.1 billion in financing it needed to emerge from Chapter 11. But as the creditors, lenders and lawyers gathered around a long conference table to close on the complicated deal, one seat remained empty.
The chair had been reserved for Appaloosa Management, an A-list private-equity player that was leading a group of ...