Attachment 1 - Instructions to Interested Firms (Draft).docx

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Expert Financial Advisory Services

Attachment 1: Instructions to Respondents (Addendum to provision 52.212-1)

1. Adherence to Instructions

To maximize efficiency and ensure fairness during the quotation evaluation process, respondents must comply with provision 52.212-1 and this addendum. Quotations that do not comply with these instructions may be considered non-compliant with the solicitation terms and ineligible for award.

2. Quotation Due Dates

Quotations are due in accordance with the following schedule:

Volume 1 – Respondent Cover Letter and Qualifications: See solicitation closing date posted at www.sam.gov under this opportunity announcement.

Volume 2 – Price Quotation: Only qualifying firms must submit a price quotation. PBGC will notify qualifying firms of the due date upon reviewing Volume 1 responses.

Oral Presentation and Interview: PBGC will provide all qualifying respondents with oral presentation timeslot options. The agency’s intention is to complete all presentations within a one-week period, although it retains discretion to set the final presentation cut-off time as determined to be in the agency’s best interests.

3. Industry Questions

Interested parties may submit questions in response to this solicitation to the points of contact identified in this announcement no later than [TBD upon release of the final solicitation].

4. Quotation Submission Method

Respondents shall submit their quotations by email to both designated points of contact for this solicitation no later than the designated due date and time.

5. Quotation Organization and Formatting

Respondents shall organize and format their quotations in accordance with Table 1, below.

Table 1 – Quotation Organization and Formatting Requirements Evaluation Phase (Informational only)

b. (If not submitted under the pre-solicitation notice) Completed and executed Attachment 6 forms received no later than 48 hours before the solicitation closing date and time.

Provide written documents in PDF format using Aptos, Calibri, or another sans serif font with a minimum 11-point size (does not apply to tables or images).

The presentation may be in PPT or PDF format. There are no page limit or font specifications for this document; however, respondents must ensure that they can speak to each slide within a 10-minute presentation.

b. Connectivity to Microsoft Teams;

c. Reliable audio and visual connection for all presenters (individually or as group); and

d. Presence and participation of the following proposed roles as presenter(s): Team Lead, Expert Witness (may be the same person).

b. Completed EFAS Pricing Template; and

c. (As appropriate) Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Risk Mitigation Plan

6. Detailed Quotation Instructions

a. Cover Letter. Respondents shall submit a cover letter with Volumes 1 and 2 that includes, at a minimum, the following:

i. The information specified by provision 52.212-1(a)(1), (2), (3), (5) (if applicable), and (6);

ii. A statement that the respondent either “has” or “has not” provided in-court or out-of-court restructuring advisory services to a debtor or creditor in a case in which the debtor had a least $4 billion in funded debt at the time of filing for bankruptcy or at the initiation of an out-of-court restructuring;

iii. If the respondent stated “has” in response to 6.a.ii., a list of all past debtor or creditor clients meeting these criteria within the past 10 years;

iv. The names and titles of the presenters who will participate in the oral presentation, and of any substitute presenter who may present in the event of an emergency. (But see Section 6.c.iii. for more information on presenters and substitutions.)

v. (Required with Volume 2: Price Quotation only) A statement that the respondent agrees to hold the prices in its quotation firm for 60 days from the date specified for receipt of price quotations;

vi. Either a statement certifying that the respondent knows of no actual or potential OCIs that would result from the respondent receiving an award under this solicitation or a brief explanation of what actual or potential OCIs may result from the respondent receiving an award under this solicitation;

vii. The following statement, completed as indicated: “I, [name of cover letter signatory], certify that [company name] leadership has reviewed the solicitation in full, understands the Government’s requirement, including the standards for acceptable performance, and believes [company name] to be fully capable of satisfactorily performing this requirement. In addition, [company name] leadership has either participated in or reviewed all aspects of this quotation. The information contained herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”; and

viii. The signature of a senior company official with authority to enter the respondent into a contract for this work, as well as the signature date.

b. Oral Presentation.

i. Oral presentations have two substantive components: a prepared presentation and responses to PBGC questions.

ii. Once PBGC has deemed a respondent to be qualified to perform this work, it will share with the respondent available timeslots in which to hold the presentation. If the parties cannot agree on a timeslot upon working in good faith to do so, PBGC will have ultimate discretion to make scheduling decisions.

iii. The maximum time respondents will have in which to deliver their prepared presentations is 10 minutes. This does not include time for introductions, responses to agency questions, and other non-substantive formalities.

iv. Respondents must prepare and exhibit a slide deck to accompany their prepared presentations. Because PBGC will not be recording presentations, slide decks should address key presentation points to assist PBGC evaluators with recalling relevant details.

v. Respondents must submit copies of their slide decks to PBGC at least 24 hours before their scheduled presentations.

vi. For evaluation purposes, PBGC will only consider the information that the respondents address during prepared presentations or provide in response to agency questions. PBGC will not consider information in slide decks that respondents do not address within their 10-minute prepared presentations; therefore, respondents must ensure that their slide decks do not exceed a length that they can speak to within the allotted time.

vii. Up to three (3) of the respondent firm’s employees may participate in the presentation. Of these, the following individual(s) must be present and have speaking roles:

A. The proposed team lead for this work; and

B. The proposed testifying expert for this work.

These roles may be occupied by the same person, but PBGC will not accept any substitutions for them. If either role is unavailable to present at the scheduled day and time, the respondent firm must notify PBGC as soon as possible so the parties can attempt to reschedule. (Rescheduling is not guaranteed, however.)

viii. Presentations will be conducted over Microsoft Teams. Presenters may be co-located or remote; however, each presenter must be visible while presenting. In the event of technical issues that prevent PBGC from seeing or understanding a presenter, the agency will pause the presentation timer and allow reasonable time to re-establish the connection before resuming the timer. PBGC will have ultimate discretion to decide what constitutes “reasonable time” and when the presentation clock resumes. To help mitigate the risk of technical issues, PBGC will schedule connection tests prior to presentations.

ix. Prepared presentations must address, at a minimum, the following topics:

A. The firm’s prior relevant work engagements within the preceding 10 years (including Federal contract numbers, as applicable).

B. The experience of proposed personnel performing work like that required by PBGC (regardless of whether the respondent company employed the personnel at that time). Of particular interest to PBGC is experience testifying in a bankruptcy or restructuring case regarding valuation, plan feasibility, solvency, or an asset sale. Regarding asset sale testimony, PBGC is interested in testimony on matters including, but not limited to, asset marketing, sale prices, and fairness.

C. Contact information of client references who can verify the information and speak to the respondent’s strength of performance.

x. Following each respondent’s prepared presentation, PBGC may ask questions which may be clarifying or substantive in nature. PBGC may also seek to negotiate the terms of a respondent’s quotation during these sessions, at its discretion, with one or more firms. There is no standard time limit for post-presentation questioning and answering.

c. OCI Risk Mitigation Plan. Only respondents unable to certify the absence of actual or potential OCI risks in their cover letters shall submit an OCI risk mitigation plan. The plan only needs to be submitted once, before or with Volume 2: Price Quotation. The risk mitigation plan must list, in specific detail, the issue(s) that constitute the actual or potential OCI, how the issues originated, a draft plan to mitigate the OCI, and any other pertinent facts or assumptions that led the respondent to believe an OCI issue exists with regard to its quotation.

d. Price. As part of the Volume 2 submission, respondents shall complete and submit Attachment 5 – EFAS Income Pricing Template. See the template for specific instructions.

7. Additional Considerations

The Contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws. The Contractor's compliance is material to the Government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code, and certifies that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: In accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order of January 21, 2025 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity), which revokes Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment Opportunity), Contractors are no longer required to complete the associated representations found at FAR 52.212-3(d) or comply with clauses (or portions of clauses) implementing Executive Order 11246 (i.e., FAR 52.222-26, FAR 52.212-5).