Financial Advisory Services

The purpose of this notice amendment is to post Solicitation Amendment 01 and the Solicitation Questions and Answers.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a United States government corporation and agency of the United States, was created under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to administer the federal pension insurance program and enforce compliance with the provisions of Title IV. The PBGC, Corporate Finance and Restructuring Department, has a requirement for a financial advisory services. These services will provide PBGC with transaction, bankruptcy, and restructuring support. PBGC intends to make multiple awards for each support area. The NAICS code is 523110 (Investment Banking and Securities Dealing) with a small business standard size of $38.5 million. The anticipated contract will have a base period of performance of twelve (12) months and four (4) option periods consisting of twelve (12) months each. In order to be eligible for award, all responsible sources must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database. Contractors may register online at the website, www.sam.gov. The solicitation and any amendments will be available through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website, www.fbo.gov. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring the FBO website for the most up-to-date information concerning this solicitation.

Paper copies of the solicitation and any amendments will not be distributed. Upon issuance of the solicitation, there will be an identified question and answer period. Further inquiries regarding this solicitation must be sent to Roland Thomas, Contracting Officer at thomas.roland@pbgc.gov and David Poppe, Contracting Officer at poppe.david@pbgc.gov.

This notice is issued pursuant to FAR 15.202, Advisory Multi-Step Process, and FAR 5.204, Presolicitation Notices. This notice contains a description of the requirement and instructions on how companies should respond. This notice is not the actual solicitation, but is for the purpose of identifying interested Firms and to advise on their potential viability as competitors prior to soliciting proposals. The solicitation for this requirement is expected for release within the next 15 - 30 days. This notice does not constitute a commitment on the part of the Government, and does not guarantee that an actual solicitation or a contract will be issued.

1. Overview

1.1  The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal agency that guarantees payment of private pension benefits when companies and pension plans fail. PBGC protects some 44 million Americans in over 27,500 private defined benefit and benefit plans. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan sponsors and their controlled group members (loosely defined as parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies) are jointly and severally liable for making minimum required contributions to their pension plans. When a pension plan terminates, plan sponsors and controlled group members are liable to PBGC or the unfunded benefit liabilities (UBL) associated with the terminated plan. PBGC requires the services of financial advisory firms to support its interests in bankruptcy and restructuring and transactions and related matters. Through its Corporate Finance and Restructuring Department (CFRD), PBGC monitors the activities of pension plan sponsors and their controlled group members to ascertain whether those activities pose a risk to the pension plans insured by PBGC. If so, CFRD strives to mitigate risk. Bankruptcy and restructuring activities undertaken by plan sponsors and their controlled group members frequently pose a risk to PBGC's insurance program.

1.2  The Contractor shall provide PBGC with high quality, experienced financial advisory services in support of ONE or BOTH major support areas, which are: 1) Transaction Support and/or 2) Bankruptcy and Restructuring. As applicable to the awarded support area(s), the Contractor shall provide complex bankruptcy and restructuring activities, transactions, valuations, and other matters involving pension plan sponsors and controlled group members in a manner that enhances PBGC's mission by mitigating risks to the Pension Insurance Program and, when appropriate, maximizing PBGC's recoveries.

1.3  This is a performance based requirement that not only provides the above described services, but also may include preparation of and providing of expert witness support.

1.4  PBGC intends to award multiple Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to financial advisory firms to two major support areas under the IDIQ. When a transaction arises with which CFRD needs assistance, PBGC will determine which support area the requirement falls under and then extend to all Contractors awarded a seat under the applicable support area a fair opportunity to compete for the task order.

1.5  The resultant contract is anticipated to be a Multiple Award, IDIQ contract, contractors awarded under one or both major support areas (Transaction Support and/or Bankruptcy and Restructuring) with a potential of up to 5 years of performance.

2. Advisory Multi-Step Process

2.1  PBGC invites interested contractors to review the attached Advisory Phase Questionnaire, complete it, and return the questionnaire to David Poppe at poppe.david@pbgc.gov and Joy Bolluyt at Bolluyt.joy@pbgc.gov by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on May 16, 2017. Late Questionnaires will not be reviewed.

2.2  The competition for this requirement is expected to be very complex, require a lot of input to the proposals and a large commitment on those that participate. PBGC will advise Firms responding to the Advisory Phase Questionnaire if they are considered viable or not to compete in this acquisition. The feedback provided is intended to help the firm decide for themselves if it is going to invest time and resources in the competition. If a company is determined not to be a viable competitor, they are NOT precluded from submitting a proposal once the actual solicitation is issued. Limit responses to only what is requested in the Advisory Phase Questionnaire. Additional information provided outside of the Questionnaire will not be reviewed and will not be considered in determining the viability of a potential Offeror. Completed and submitted questionnaires are considered "Source Selection Sensitive" and shall be protected in accordance with FAR 3.104-4.

2.3  This phase is NOT to be construed as the Request for Proposal (RFP), is not mandatory and the Government WILL NOT reimburse proposal costs stemming from this phase. This is merely an opportunity, given the significant financial investment required to participate in this acquisition, for the Government to advise interested Agencies of their potential to be a viable competitor in this acquisition. It is NOT to be construed as a formal evaluation in response to a Request for Proposal.

2.4  The Contracting Office WILL NOT entertain questions at this phase. There will be a question phase allotted for, if necessary, upon release of the solicitation.

This is a synopsis and not a Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP for this requirement is not currently available, but it is estimated to be available on or about March 31, 2017.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a Government owned corporation, established under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. Background and mission information are available at https://www.pbgc.gov/about/who-we-are.html.

PBGC has a requirement for Financial Advisory Services. These services will provide PBGC with transaction, bankruptcy, and restructuring support. This requirement will be available for Full and Open Competition under NAICS code 523110. The anticipated period-of-performance for this requirement shall consist of one 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods.

In order to be eligible for award, all responsible sources must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) and may register online at https://www.sam.gov.