Ad Hocracy

A storyline in the AMR bankruptcy is exposing how confusing it's becoming (at least to me) to keep track of negotiating groups in chapter 11.  (Here's a good recent story from WSJ.)  Gone are the days of the simple Creditors Committee.  Now we have Ad Hoc groups of bondholders.  While there was some initial dust-up about disclosure requirements when these sorts of groups emerged, that's settled somewhat.  What I am now baffled about is the Ad Hoc group in AMR, which does not apparently see eye-to-eye with a non-Ad Hoc ad hoc group of hedge funds.   Apparently these funds were invited to join the Ad Hoc group (but declined? why??) and now are complaining that the Ad Hoc group is getting special treatment in negotiations during the exclusivity period.  (I wonder how the Creditors Committee feels?)

The broader point that has me head-scratching is why are these groups assembled (presumably for negotiating leverage) and why do they have intra-class divergence along the lines we're seeing in AMR?  Is it cultural (don't want to work with certain funds)?  Strategic (don't want to be dragged down to USAiways merger by funds with a stake there)?  Other?

Speculations welcome, because it all just devolves for me into unhappy recollection of the cliquishness of high school.  Splitters!