Dear SFNet Community:

As you may have heard, SFNet and our Management Committee have made the difficult decision to shift our Annual Convention this November 17^th-19^th from our planned venue in New Orleans to a live, online event.  While we are thankfully seeing parts of our economy begin to re-open, large gatherings in New Orleans are currently illegal and even if that should change, it is impossible to adequately ensure the well-being of our attendees, staff and volunteers.  Focus groups have reinforced that the majority of firms and individuals would not support an in-person Convention this year. 

NGL Energy Partners LP announced that it has entered into a new $250 million term loan facility with certain funds and accounts managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. to refinance its existing $250 million bridge term loan facility that was established in July 2019 with TD Securities (USA) LLC as lead arranger and bookrunner and The Toronto-Dominion Bank, New York Branch as initial lender to finance a portion of the acquisition of Mesquite Disposals Unlimited LLC.

Franklin Capital’s Sue Duckett has seen a lot in her 25-plus-year career in the commercial finance industry. Her career has spanned several positions and two countries, but she has never seen anything such as the current crisis. It has been overwhelming at times, with constant changes and an unprecedented number of new inquiries relating to personal protection equipment (PPE). She pushed aside the mounting emails in her new home office to reflect on what she has seen over these past several weeks and where she thinks this might be going.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that its Asset-Based Lending team served as administrative agent for a new $185 million senior secured, asset-based credit facility for Orscheln Farm and Home LLC, a leading retailer of farm supplies, home improvement essentials and general merchandise.

MDC Partners Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: MDCA) today announced that the Company has amended its existing senior secured revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, LLC, as agent, extending the maturity date to February 3, 2022.

Richard Hawkins, Georgia Quenby and John Alderton provide an overview of the potential impacts of the New Moratorium and consider actions that Secured Lenders may wish to consider in preparation.

(Editor’s Note: SFNet will be hosting a Webinar on UK Insolvency Reform: What Secured Lenders Need to Know, which will include the authors and other experts on June 10 at 11 AM ET.)

8minute intends to use the credit facility to arrange purchase power agreements and interconnection agreements associated with its development pipeline of solar and storage projects representing 18 gigawatts of power in California, Texas and the southwestern United States.

Bridge Bank today announced it has extended a credit facility to YES Leasing, a financial services company that provides commercial equipment financing to companies and lessees of all credit backgrounds, specializing in helping those with challenging credit situations and unique circumstances. The Miami-based company, established in 1975, is a funding source for small businesses, entrepreneurs, vendors and equipment brokers throughout the country. The new credit facility will provide additional capacity to support the ongoing growth of YES Leasing's portfolio.

While we are all continually reminded how important networking is to our careers and business development, the reality is that the Covid-19 pandemic simply does not allow us to use traditional methods to network because activities such as attending in-person networking events and meeting face-to-face for coffees and dinners are on hold for now. 

Does this mean that your networking efforts can be (or need to be) put “on hold”?  The answer is a resounding no. 

Denise Albanese of Cost Reduction Solutions discusses the origin of her firm that was started by her husband, Michael F. Albanese, CPA, as a sole practitioner field examiner. 

Denise also discusses the new procedures implemented when the Covid-19 crisis began, what field exams in the future may look like and what makes a business successful. 

From Disruption to Transformation. SFNet Responds to Meet the Needs of the Industry

When first submitted for publication in February, this article predicted a recession of unknown origin. COVID-19 answered the question in March.  While we don’t know how long the current health and economic crises will last, we know they are here, and that a meaningful number of lawyers and businesspeople have not encountered a widespread economic downturn. 

Attorneys from McMillan LLP discuss the differences between the personal property security regimes between the U.S. and Canada. 

As more and more companies look at integrating sustainability into their business processes and strategy, there is still much room for growth in the green and sustainable finance market. The Covid-19 crisis is only expected to increase interest in this area.

Significant disruptions in credit quality have facilitated the need for field examiners to be on alert for situations that are generally not prevalent in a more stable environment. 

Jones Day partners provide details on a cross-border restructuring case over many foreign and U.S. jurisdictions.

The pressures brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the likelihood of borrowers breaching their financial covenants. Secured lenders should be aware that force majeure clauses in contracts might be invoked by companies. Here, industry executives provide their views on this concern. 

Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring, and investment firm, announced today the appointment of Kyle Shonak as Managing Director in the Retail division.  In his role as Managing Director, Shonak will have many responsibilities, including managing retail client engagements and working with the team to enhance the group’s retail growth strategy.