Articles

As 2021 is drawing to a close, lenders and borrowers are asking what to expect in 2022. In March of 2020, when the first Covid-19 lockdowns began, there was a great deal of fear and uncertainty, both for individuals and for businesses. As the government pumped liquidity into the market, many businesses used those resources to survive through the period.

Now in late 2021, as the liquidity sources have expired, and businesses must generate cash flow based on their performance, the level of performance stress is increasing. Not only has the “free money” been used, but now businesses are dealing with inflation, commodity price changes, labor issues and supply chain disruption as stresses to their financial performance.

A key theme that emerged from sessions and keynotes at SFNet’s 77^th Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ, was the need to fortify and build resilience to prepare for challenges and increasing turbulence due to economic, regulatory, social and technological disruptions. And while the speakers said they appreciate more data, many recommended a greater focus on human connection that fosters trust. One independent said bluntly, “You want to look your borrower in the eye.”

“Everyone wants a crystal ball,” said another presenter, “but no one has one.”

eCapital Corp. (“eCapital”), a leading alternative finance provider in North America, has named Brian Gagel as Managing Director of General Factoring in its Commercial Finance division. He will report to Dave Ciccolo, the CEO of the division, and will lead a team of account management and operations professionals to support the continued growth of the general factoring business.

Hilco Global announced today that long time Bank of America executive Betsy Ratto will join the Hilco Global team as Senior Vice President of Capital Solutions with responsibility to drive business for ReStore Capital and Hilco Corporate Finance.

In this new role, Ms. Ratto will be responsible for originating and executing corporate finance and capital markets transactions, with focus on the retail industry and other financing transactions. Ms. Ratto will be based in Hilco’s Boston office and will work on identifying and originating lending/investment opportunities through Hilco Global’s and her own existing network of professional contacts and relationships, including investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds.

In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Andrea Petro to talk about her new role as Board Member at Ready Capital, and to share her advice to ABL managers about consolidation, competition and the current state of the market.

Some turnaround and M&A leaders are predicting the second quarter of 2022 could be when the “default boom” hits. Asset-based lenders, factors, and other secured lenders will need to be at the ready to handle turnaround deals.

Citizens announced today that it has led $75 million in new credit facilities for Procentrix, a professional and technology services company serving U.S. federal government customers in civilian, homeland security and defense sectors. Citizens is the Left Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent.

The new credit facilities supported an investment in Procentrix by Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group. This investment will be used to bring more capacity and service offerings to address additional customer requests and to diversify Procentrix’s customer base.

Wingspire Capital LLC (“Wingspire”) is pleased to announce a $40 million senior secured credit facility provided to Theragenics Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of innovative medical devices.

The transaction included a $20 million revolving line of credit and a $20 million term loan, with the proceeds used to refinance existing debt and fund ongoing working capital and general corporate needs.

White Oak Healthcare Finance, LLC (“White Oak”) announced today that it acted as sole lender and administrative agent of a senior credit facility to support the acquisition of Port 45 Recovery LLC (“Port 45”) by Sunrise Treatment Center, LLC (“Sunrise” or the "Company"), a Bridges Fund Management L.P. (“Bridges”) portfolio company.

Founded in 2007, Cincinnati, OH-based Sunrise is a substance abuse treatment provider in Ohio and Kentucky. Port 45’s services include partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, traditional outpatient, aftercare, recovery housing and group therapy offerings.

Ever since the early days of blockchain with the 2009 introduction of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have been prone to periods of high and low valuation. After going through another “crypto-winter,” or period of low prices, lasting three years, cryptocurrencies have once again caught the attention of a broader investor community.

Since the second half of 2020, the sheer number of new cryptocurrency offerings and the price volatility have been breathtaking. For example, Ethereum—the number two cryptocurrency and blockchain platform by market cap—grew by 800 percent from October 2020-October 2021. As new investment vehicles for Bitcoin are introduced in the United States, the hype is at an all-time high.