Articles

White Oak Commercial Finance ("White Oak") closed a working capital credit facility with Mana Products Inc. ("Mana"), a developer and manufacturer of high-end beauty products based in New York, at the end of the first quarter.

The innovative beauty products company has been in business for over 40 years developing formulas for some of the world’s leading beauty brands and was recently acquired by Traub Capital, an experienced private equity firm specialized in building value in consumer companies. The funding will support Mana’s growth and market opportunities.

(Editor’s Note: This is the beginning of a new interview series by Charlie Perer of SG Credit Partners.)

In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Ken Pardue to understand his plans to grow Triumph, the pace of change in the ABL business and state of the market, among other things.

Otterbourg P.C. announced today that Thomas P. Duignan has been named co-chair of the firm’s Finance Department.

Mr. Duignan represents many prominent banks, commercial finance companies and other institutional lenders in connection with a wide range of transactions. He will join co-chair David Morse in guiding a financial group at Otterbourg that is firmly established as an industry leader.

I am old enough to remember the meltdowns that we had in the 1990s when prime rate of interest hit double digits and the American economy cratered when companies folded up and went out of business. Of course, I also remember 2008-2009 when the housing crisis hit and a lot of companies went out of business and banks lost a lot of money, etc. Here we go again.  We are now in the year 2020 and sitting on the brink of another emerging crisis.

The parent company of Webster Bank announced Monday it would merge with the parent company of Sterling National Bank in an all-stock deal worth about $10.3 billion.

The new company will locate its headquarters in Stamford — an agreement that marks the second blockbuster transaction this year for Connecticut’s banking sector.

Waterbury-based Webster Financial Corp.’s union with the Pearl River, N.Y.-based Sterling Bancorp would create a bank with about $63 billion in total assets, $52 billion in deposits and more than 200 branch locations in the northeast U.S. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Interview with Betty Hernandez, chair of SFNet’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Committee.

As head of acquisitions, Bruce Sim is responsible for sourcing commercial finance platform companies and portfolios across North America, and the UK.

Sim has more than three decades of experience in commercial finance, banking, and capital markets. Prior to joining eCapital, he served as senior director of business development at ExWorks Capital, and senior managing director for Glass Ratner Advisory & Capital Group. His banking experience includes executive roles as Head of Capital Markets and Wealth Management at RBC (Caribbean) Ltd, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada; Head of Wells Fargo Global Banking in Miami; and Southeast Region Manager for asset-based lending at Wells Fargo. Sim earned his Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from York University in Canada.

FGI Worldwide LLC (“FGI”) is delighted to announce the completion of a $40MM ABL facility for ScanSource’s former business in Europe. The facility was used, in part, to fund a portion of the acquisition by a Charlotte-based family office and to support the company’s future working capital requirements. The new Company will be headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. They are a leading global provider of technology products and solutions. 

Capstone Headwaters (“Capstone”), a leading middle market investment banking firm, announced it has completed the acquisition of Amherst Consulting LLC (“Amherst”) as part of a continued plan to grow the company’s Financial Advisory Services (“FAS”) group.

The announcement marks the latest development in a multiphase strategy Capstone unveiled this past December with the addition of several new FAS professionals based in various locations, including Denver and Canada. The newly acquired Amherst team will be led by Sheldon Stone and Scott Eisenberg who are joining Capstone’s FAS Group as Managing Directors and will continue to be based in Michigan.

Monroe Credit Advisors (“Monroe Credit”) announced that Marc Pressler has joined the firm as a Managing Director in its Chicago office. Marc will be responsible for originating middle market debt and lease transactions for the firm.

Marc has over 30 years of experience in commercial banking and structured finance. Prior to Monroe Credit, Marc was the Commercial Banking Segment Leader at Associated Bank, where he was responsible for leading the origination, underwriting and portfolio management teams in the Southeast Wisconsin region. 

While the PPP loans have provided necessary working capital for many businesses to survive the economic impacts of Covid-19, as those funds have been used and payment deferrals have expired, companies are looking to enter into M&A transactions. When a company has a PPP loan the M&A process is further complicated for the company and its lender.

On October 2, 2020 the SBA issued a Procedural Notice to provide guidance on the notification and consent requirements for changes in ownership of companies with PPP loans. The usual SBA 7(a) loan requirements are to obtain consent of the SBA prior to a lender approving a change in ownership. This October 2 guidance was meant to clarify what the SBA would expect specifically related to PPP loans and change of ownership.

As pandemic impacts continue to mitigate, many financial institutions are now reducing their risk forecast for loan defaults. The upbeat sentiments are welcome but the times remain unprecedented, and uncertainty remains on what lies ahead.

Today, more than ever, lenders are focused on minimizing their risks when entering a financial transaction.

Two key components in the lenders’ due diligence process when entering a transaction are conducting consensual and non-consensual lien searches and filing a UCC1 against the borrower.

Brooke Iley counsels and defends domestic and foreign corporations in all areas of employment and labor law compliance and litigation, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour class and collective actions, trade secret disputes and data protection, and alleged fiduciary breaches. She represents clients in negotiations, litigations, and arbitrations nationally in these areas.

The author discusses the potential perils of improper use of “incorporation by reference” in commercial lending transactions, as well as potential strategies for reducing potential incorporation by reference hazards.

Cambridge Savings Bank (CSB), one of the oldest and largest community banks in Massachusetts, announced the addition of John Bobbin, First Vice President, Senior Asset-Based Lending Officer, to join its Asset-Based Lending Team, which sits under CSB’s well-established Corporate Banking division.

Encina Business Credit, LLC announced today that it has provided an $80 million senior secured revolving credit facility to a national distributor of media and consumer goods.

The senior secured revolving line of credit, which is collateralized by accounts receivable and inventory, was used to refinance the borrower’s existing facility and provide ongoing working capital financing.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that CIT Northbridge Credit, as advised by CIT Asset Management LLC, served as sole lead arranger on a $45 million senior secured credit facility for MVP Payroll Financing LLC.

Based in Chandler, Arizona, MVP Payroll Financing provides business clients with staffing and administrative solutions covering human resources, payroll, workers’ compensation and more.