1. Evercore-Roopesh Shah connection — Roopesh sat on the same Wharton WRDIC LME panel as Pat on Feb 21, 2025. Mention only if natural; don't lead with it.
2. The J.Crew / At Home DIP-to-equity pattern — Anchorage runs the same playbook across deals. You noticed the pattern. Most candidates won't have.
3. The Saks Global pitch in your back pocket — only deploy if Pat asks "pitch me a name." Don't volunteer.
📌 Start Here
The three docs to know cold. Read in order: comprehensive → master → Gatto integration.
The 280KB master. Mental model (Part I) · three Evercore deals reframed for investor lens (Part II — Newfold/Cabinetworks/Tropicana) · interview synthesis incl. the 5 likely questions, the 5 traps, the fulcrum drill, the DIP-to-equity drill (Part III).
74KB consolidation: one-page cover, killer lines to memorize, firm facts, ACO IX, Pat's Bloomberg-podcast worldview, narrative answers, Saks Global pitch, 24-hour checklist.
Cross-walk of The Credit Investor's Handbook against the comprehensive prep. Crosswalk · gaps Gatto fills · fulcrum drill (David's Rigatoni walkthrough) · three-deal reframes with Gatto anchors · stories pre-loaded for deployment.
The investor-side framework + sourceable primer canon. Pat's verbatim positions (iron triangle, deal-away credibility test) · 8-strategy trade taxonomy · 150-entry PM glossary · 10 base-rate stats to memorize · curated reading list with URLs.
31,000-word adversarial-layer reference. What Pat is actually calculating at 2am with $200M on the line. Serta 3 holdings + Mitel single-word distinction · Revlon/Boardriders litigation option math · J.Crew/Chewy/Envision three-blocker stack · double-dip mechanics · co-op internals · full numeric recovery waterfall.
Pat's frameworks applied to Newfold/Cabinetworks/Tropicana at each decision point (pre-LME, at-LME, post-LME, hypothetical Ch11). Includes the Talen-style hidden-value lens (AI for Newfold, FTC + RE for Cabinetworks, brand-carveout + GLP-1 for Tropicana). Lead pitch: Tropicana DIP-staging paired with Newfold second-out credit trade. Trifecta-reviewed.
🎙 Narrative Answers
Scripts for the 'why' questions — why Anchorage, why investing, why the trajectory.
The narrative answer to 'why Anchorage' (vs. why any other shop). Anchored on the Pat-quote opener and the post-ACP-IX framing.
The narrative answer to 'why investing' (vs. why stay in advisory). Davis Polk → Evercore → buyside arc; the kilometer-deep argument.
📊 Technical & Sources
Deal history, Saks pitch, reading list, and the patch notes from the red-team pass.
Pat McGrath's verified deal track record (J.Crew → At Home pattern, Bloomberg podcast notes) and the Saks Global pitch with current filings. Hold the Saks pitch in your back pocket — only deploy if asked.
Verified primary sources (Howard Marks memos, Apollo / Torsten Slok maturity-wall pieces, Roe-Rotaru LME re-default paper) plus 15 likely rapid-fire questions with answer scaffolds.
Patch notes from the trifecta red-team review. Fact corrections, sharpened claims, removed weak language. Skim before interview to make sure nothing slipped through.
Panel critique of the decision-framework doc (Gemini + DeepSeek + Claude). Three high-severity fixes applied: Cabinetworks FTC logic was backwards, Newfold 'free Talen optionality' was a misapplied analogy, highest-conviction trade should be Tropicana DIP-staging not Newfold second-out. Also lists Pat's likely probes with preempted answers.
🎯 Live Names + Sourcing (NEW · 2026-05-25)
Names Anchorage is actually trading + how to source live positions. Built from desk-flagged tips + 4-model trifecta + parallel web research.
The 10 signals that an LME is coming, ranked by lead time. Tier 1 (12+ months): J.Crew-style trapdoor capacity · Serta-style majority-only amendment thresholds. Tier 2 (6-12mo): sponsor 5-7yr hold pressure · 18mo/sub-85/>6x trifecta · EBITDA add-back creep. Tier 3 (3-6mo): CFO turnover · sponsor moves to RX counsel · CUSIP-transfer-block (the Internet Brands tell). Tier 4 (1-3mo): tranche volume spike · "Dear Holder" letter. The Pat-doctrine response: the signals are the easy part — the infrastructure (5 partner relationships at each of Gibson Dunn/Akin/DPW/Wachtell, standing FA call lists, weekly book screens, pre-cleared co-op templates, ring-fenced dry powder) is what gets you in the room. Includes 90-second interview script.
Saks-style deep dives on 4 names a desk contact flagged. Trifecta-ranked: Spring Windows (9/10/9/9 unanimous) as primary pitch · Internet Brands (KKR coercive AHC suppression, AI disruption thesis) · ION Trading / Platform ($10B Oct 2025 refi + stalled HoldCo PIK + Italian golden-powers Cedacri trap) · Aramsco (CCC+ Oct 2025, Jon-Don sector contagion). Drops: Balcan, CoAdvantage, Soliant. Each writeup: cap structure table · distress mechanic · Anchorage angle · catalyst window · interview deployment script · risks · sources.
Ten-source methodology ranked by signal value: Octus AHC tracker → PACER Rule 2019 → CLO trustee monthly reports (Anchorage runs 20+ CLOs through US Bank/Wells/Citi/BNY — the underused goldmine) → 13D/G → 13F → Debtwire → Form ADV → law-firm counsel patterns (Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Debevoise, Milbank, Ropes) → Bloomberg LEAG → internal Evercore intel. Includes Anchorage entity-name list for cross-source search and an honest framing for Pat if he asks "how would you have sourced our book."
Names where Anchorage is publicly confirmed in the cap structure right now, ranked for interview probe-readiness: First Brands Group (Jan 2026 DIP secondary buy w/ Oaktree — THE live one) · Gabe's (Aug 2025 control equity w/ Brigade + Arbour Lane, Debevoise-led) · At Home Group (Oct 2025 emergence w/ Redwood + Farallon, "double-dip" RSA mechanics) · Finance of America (Nov 2024 LME, 1L now, Nov 2026 maturity) · Cumulus Media (April 2026 emergence, possible Gibson Dunn AHC) · Instant Brands (NOT publicly Anchorage — handle as case study, not position).
📁 Combined + Drafts
Earlier rollups and drafts. Useful for search and reference.
98KB single-file rollup of every prep doc. Use for ctrl-F across the whole stack.
Source reference: 📄 ebooks.com receipt — Gatto, US$83.50
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