When Stephen Feinberg went hunting for elk in Colorado for the first time several years ago, he reportedly scaled an 11,000ft peak and killed his prey with the first shot.

Mr Feinberg's private equity and hedge fund firm, Cerberus Capital Management, takes its intimidating name from the mythological three-headed hound that guards the gates of hell. In its early days, Cerberus was best known as an aggressive "vulture" firm that scooped up distressed debt and lent money at high rates to troubled companies.