After Syncora Capital settled its objections to the Detroit bankruptcy plan of adjustment, it looked like the battle over the Detroit Institute of Arts collection would subside. Not so fast, it turns out. A major contest looms next week with a remaining creditor, Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation, over the valuation of the collection. Just to recap, the creditors (including both Syncora and FGIC) submitted a valuation of the entire DIA collection that put the value between $8 billion, performed by Victor Wiener Associates, while DIA and the city advanced an appraisal by Artvest Partners and Michael Plummer (who testified last week) putting it at closer to $2.4 billion (after an initial appraisal by Christie's of only part of the collection).
The Detroit Free Press has an article today (in which I'm quoted) breaking down the methodology and other aspects of the competing appraisals. It's a must-read for anyone curious how these values are reached.
I still don't expect this issue to move the needle much in the grand scheme of things, but in the meantime, stay tuned for more developments next week.
