KKR & Co. expanded its global private credit team with two hires to further its reach within asset-based financing and secured lending.

The firm tapped Giacomo Picco and Stephanie Yeh as managing directors. Picco will lead a new effort focused on so-called receivables and inventory-backed debt, while Yeh will co-lead sourcing of ABF investment opportunities in the U.S., according to a statement viewed by Bloomberg. Both will be based in New York.

PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYPS) (“PLAYSTUDIOS” or the “Company”), an award-winning developer of free-to-play casual mobile and social games that offer real-world rewards to loyal players, announced today that it has entered into a new $75 million, five-year secured revolving credit facility (“New Credit Facility”) to support its future growth initiatives. The New Credit Facility also provides the Company with an option to increase the credit facility for up to an additional $75 million.

Allou Healthcare was one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated against ABL lenders. What follows is a description of the case from an individual who was directly involved from day one. TSL will be publishing the entire article in two installments. In Part One, you will read how the fraud was perpetrated and how it was discovered. In the second installment, to be published in our September issue, you will read all the steps taken by the lenders and their team of professionals to recoup the loan and to punish the wrongdoers. This is a rare firsthand account of a significant fraud and you won’t want to miss it.

The industry worldwide was profoundly shaken by the events of 2020, and the two-day SFNet International Lending Conference provided attendees with a broad global view of economic recovery and a deep dive into the new normal of covenants, risk management and other areas of the secured finance business.

White Oak Commercial Finance ("White Oak"), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, is pleased to welcome Mike Earnhart as Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Originations. Mr. Earnhart will be based in Los Angeles with national coverage responsibilities.

Mr. Earnhart is an accomplished financial industry executive with in-depth experience in factoring, asset-based lending, banking and territory sales management. He served on the Board of The Professionals Club and was formerly the Committee President of City of Hope’s Fashion & Retail Group, where he is still an active member.

Thompson Coburn LLP, a national law firm with six offices across the country, has announced its combination with New York-based Hahn & Hessen LLP, a 44-attorney firm with nearly a century of experience representing financial institutions and other financial market participants in commercial finance, bankruptcy, workouts, and complex litigation.

The combination, effective July 1, 2021, will create a combined firm with more than 400 attorneys across seven offices: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and Southern Illinois.

Bitcoin-mania appears to have no limit, including entering corporate balance sheets with Tesla’s move to buy $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. By doing so, Tesla joins Square and MicroStrategy as a public company with a large bitcoin exposure. The increased bitcoin presence, however, also creates some significant questions that requires answers from corporate financial advisers and the companies themselves.  

Citizens announced today that it served as Lead Left Arranger for Stoughton, Mass.-based Liquid Tech Solutions’ new $350 million senior credit facility.

Liquid Tech provides route-based, on-site mobile refueling solutions across the United States. The company’s 24/7 “truck-to-truck” service delivers primarily diesel fuel to client job sites or their place of business and directly into truck fleets, boats, locomotives, equipment, generators and fuel storage tanks.

White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (“White Oak”), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, announced it provided a $50 million asset-based revolving credit facility to a leading, athletic footwear and apparel retailer based in the U.S. 

The retailer recently activated a roll-up of several brands led by a private equity firm, and the transaction was structured with advances against the company’s inventory, accounts receivable, and intellectual property. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and provide for ongoing working capital needs.

Kristen Holihan is a Senior Vice President, Senior Business Development Officer for Bank of America Business Capital (BABC), the asset based lending team at Bank of America. Kristen is responsible for identifying and engaging new ABL opportunities and working with potential borrowers to get a new ABL revolver structured and closed. She is focused on covering private equity groups, advisors, middle market companies, and large corporate companies, in both Metro New York and Upstate New York, to deliver these solutions. Kristen has also spent significant time as an ABL underwriter, as well as on the Leveraged Finance Origination and Capital Markets teams. Kristen graduated from Babson College in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science (concentration in finance). She will also be starting the Executive MBA Program at Columbia University in August 2021. Kristen is a member of the Diversity Equity and Inclusiveness Committee for the Secured Finance Network, as well as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at Bank of America.