In the 1980s, buyouts, takeovers and corporate restructurings became prevalent. With such upheavals often came swift, and very often negative, changes to a company's credit rating. To this day, mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and major corporate restructurings are all events that put corporate bonds at risk, thus the name
event risk.
Other events can also trigger changes in a company's financial health and prospects, which may trigger a change in a bond's rating. These include a federal investigation of possible wrongdoing, the sudden death of a company's chief executive officer or other key manager, or a product recall. Energy prices, foreign investor demand, and world events also are triggers for event risk. Event risk is extremely hard to anticipate and may have a dramatic and negative impact on bondholders.
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