Bed Bath & Beyond on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it failed in several last-ditch efforts to raise enough money to keep the company alive

Sixth Street has agreed to lend Bed Bath $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing so the company can have the cash flow necessary to support operations through the bankruptcy process. Bed Bath said it plans to continue to pay employees wages and benefits, maintain customer programs and honor obligations to vendors.

BMO today announced the appointment of Darrel Hackett as U.S. Chief Executive Officer of BMO Financial Group, President & CEO of BMO Harris Bank N.A., and CEO of BMO's U.S. holding company, BMO Financial Corp. (BFC). Mr. Hackett will report to Chief Executive Officer Darryl White, join the bank's Executive Committee, and will chair the U.S. Management Committee. His appointment is effective June 1, 2023.

Ian Fredericks joined Hilco Global in 2011 after working successfully as a distressed merger and acquisition and corporate restructuring attorney. Over the course of his career, Fredericks has negotiated and closed hundreds of transactions involving tens of billions of dollars. In 2017, he was a recipient of M&A Advisor’s Emerging Leaders award and in 2022 was named to the executive committee of the Secured Finance Network board of directors.

Rosenthal & Rosenthal Southeast, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc., the leading factoring, asset based lending, purchase order financing, d2c and e-commerce inventory financing firm in the United States, today announced it has acquired Lyon Capital Corporation, the factoring division of Lyon Credit Services, the premier credit reporting agency in the home furnishings industry since 1876.

Wingspire Capital LLC is pleased to announce that it completed five transactions with cumulative commitments of more than $230 million in the first quarter of 2023.

The types and sizes of the transactions were diverse, as were the borrowers — ranging from a major cosmetics brand to a travel technology platform to a global cloud networking provider.  The senior secured credit facilities included revolvers, exit financing as part of a pre-packaged bankruptcy, an add-on financing term loan, and an agented $125 million facility.

Siena Healthcare Finance today announced the closing of a $15MM working capital facility for Michigan based Optalis Health & Rehabilitation. Siena provided the line of credit for Optalis’ acquisition of a new SNF group.

SFNet's International Lending Conference (ILC) brings together some of the most interesting players on the international lending scene for discussions and insights into what lies ahead. This year’s Conference will be held at DLA Piper Offices, May 9-11, 2023.

“War, energy crisis, high inflation, synchronized interest rate hikes and stagnation in China, should have pushed the European economy in a deep recession,” said economist and journalist, Dr. Mathijs Bouman, who will kick off the Conference. “But, the old continent is more resilient than many feared and the downturn could turn out to be shallow and short-lived. But new challenges lay ahead for European industries: the structurally tight labor market, trade and investment wars and fragmentation of the world economy and the rising costs of climate policy.” 

Encina Private Credit (EPC) today announced the appointment of two key executives who will significantly contribute to the company's growth and expansion. Ian Nalitt has joined the company as Managing Director of Originations, and Brian White has been appointed as Senior Vice President of Capital Markets.

Collectors Holdings, Inc. (“Collectors”), announced today the closing of a $125M revolving line of credit with a syndicate co-led by J.P. Morgan and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., with participation by California Bank & Trust.

After more than ten years and extended litigation to compel rulemaking, on March 30, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the final rule which implements the small business lending data collection requirements set forth in section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act (Section 1071).  The final rule, together with the comments, is just under nine hundred pages.[1]  Broadly presented, the final rule can be broken down into a series of questions to be answered.  First, are the lender, the borrower and the transaction covered by the rule?  Second, what information must be collected and reported?  Third, how is the information reported?  Fourth, when does the rule take effect?

Last year was not the type of “cascade” we thought it would be – at all – as 2022 turned out to be more characterized by a surge of rising rate hikes and new concerns, versus a wave of new deals. Undeterred, we’re back this year to so see what could be infashion for factoring in 2023.

First on our list, the hot new color for this year – Viva Magenta!

Gordon Brothers, the global advisory and investment firm, has named Samantha Schackman Director, Business Development.

Schackman works with asset-based lending, investment banking and private equity professionals in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont to identify valuation, disposition and lending opportunities for Gordon Brothers and will expand the firm’s presence in the Northeast.

US bank lending contracted by the most on record in the last two weeks of March, indicating a tightening of credit conditions in the wake of several high-profile bank collapses that risks damaging the economy.

Commercial bank lending dropped nearly $105 billion in the two weeks ended March 29, the most in Federal Reserve data back to 1973. The more than $45 billion decrease in the latest week was primarily due to a a drop in loans by small banks.

Assembled Brands is celebrating a new $5 million facility with its partners at Algenist. Founded in 2011, Algenist is a clinical skincare brand delivering anti-aging based on natural, botanical ingredients such as Alguronic Acid from algae. Naturally-sourced and sustainably-produced through biotechnology, the innovative green science respects nature, and is one of the oldest, nutrient-rich greens in the world.

In this new feature series, “The Story of,” Charlie Perer sits with the key entrepreneurs and executives who have built leading commercial finance companies to talk about the origins of their respective firms. The purpose of this series is to tell the story behind many of the most famous and dynamic firms of past, present and future. The first feature is about Foothill Capital, which, of course was acquired by Norwest in 1998 and later by Wells Fargo. The core team at Foothill went on to be leaders at Wells Fargo Capital Finance and throughout the entire commercial finance industry.

DataBank, a leading provider of enterprise-class edge colocation, interconnection, and managed cloud services, announced today that it has secured another $350M in financing to fund the ongoing expansion of its edge data center footprint. Led by TD Securities, the $350 million credit facility includes a $175 million, 5-year Term Loan, a $125 million Delayed Draw Term Loan ("DDTL") which is undrawn at close, and a $50 million revolving credit line. 

RelPro, the fast-growing business development and relationship management solution for Financial & Professional Services, today announced that Raaj Rajmangal has been appointed as President of RelPro. Rajmangal, who previously served as the company’s Chief Technology Officer, will now be responsible for RelPro’s strategic development and execution. RelPro CEO and Founder Martin Wise will continue as CEO to drive the corporate vision, working closely with RelPro’s clients and partners.

SFNet's Independent Finance Roundtable (IFR) will be held April 18-20, 2023, at The Gwen in Chicago, IL. SFNet’s in-person Independent Finance Roundtable brings together senior-level executives from non-bank, independent SFNet member companies in a small setting. Attendees gather to discuss key industry topics that affect their business while enjoying time to network.