"I am Harvard educated, I will teach you restructuring." These were the words of one fund manager to Jacques Gounon, chief executive of Eurotunnel, as he attempted to achieve the unthinkable - convincing lenders to forgive billions of euros of debt but leaving shareholders still owning a large stake in the company.
Mr Gounon negotiated for years with distressed debt funds, from Los Angeles to London, who believed they should own a majority of the company if it could not repay their debt claims. When he refused to accept this as a fait accompli, the same fund manager quipped: "You cannot say no, you come from a little, tiny country."
