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  • H.I.G. Capital Expands Its Capital Formation Group in Europe with Three New Senior Appointments

    H.I.G. Capital, LLC ("H.I.G."), a leading global alternative investment firm with over $52 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that Daniel Rosenthal Ayash, Bernice Berschader and Micael Hagelin have joined the firm’s Capital Formation Group, based in H.I.G.’s London office.

    Daniel joins as a Managing Director and is responsible for managing H.I.G.’s European client partnerships for the firm’s global private equity platform. Prior to H.I.G., Daniel was a Managing Director in Eaton Partners’ Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) private funds group. Prior to joining Eaton, he was Head of European Fundraising for Patria Investimentos, where he was responsible for all European fundraising.

  • Charlie Perer Should Banks Combine Their ABL and Factoring Groups?
    For most banks with specialty finance groups the answer is no for several clear-cut reason, but it is not that simple of an answer for all banks with specialty finance divisions. This question is being hotly debated at the lower end of the market as many non-banks have successfully utilized one business development (BDO) team to sell both products.  Utilizing one BDO team to sell two products can work when there is a similar borrower profile that could dictate the credit going either way and a credit and portfolio team that is well trained in both products.  Good BDOs, both bank and non-bank alike, can use product, pricing and market flexibility to their advantage while utilizing one central back office for underwriting and portfolio management.  Why then do banks keep these groups separate?  The reason most banks don’t and shouldn’t combine ABL and factoring groups is that for most groups the underlying businesses, facility sizes, sourcing channels and credit risk are significantly different enough to merit separate divisions.
  • MARC-COLE-768x763 Meet Marc Cole, Co-Founder and CEO of SG Credit Partners, Inc.

    SG Credit Partners provides situational capital ranging from $1-$10 million for the lower middle market with a focus on non-sponsored businesses. Headquartered in Southern California with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Portland, the SG Credit Partners team has provided in excess of $250 million to 150-plus borrowers across a variety of industries and continues to expand its national footprint. Here, Marc discusses SG Credit’s efforts in going from a niche lender to a broader platform in order to better work with asset-based lenders and banks and why they are broadening their scope.

  • JPMorgan Chase Leads Syndicate of Relationship Banks in $150MM Revolving Credit Facility for Novocure
    Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR), a global oncology company working to extend survival in some of the most aggressive forms of cancer, today announced the closing of a new $150 million senior secured revolving credit facility with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and a syndicate of three relationship banks. Novocure may, subject to certain conditions and limitations, increase the revolving credit commitments outstanding under the revolving credit facility or incur new incremental term loans in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed an additional $100 million. 
  • Huntington Business Credit Adds Asset-based Lending Team for Healthcare Finance
    Huntington National Bank has expanded its Huntington Business Credit team with the addition of a Washington, D.C.-based group focused on asset-based lending in the healthcare industry. The new team, which will serve asset-based lending needs for middle market healthcare clients across the U.S., consists of five healthcare-finance industry veterans who recently joined Huntington from Sector Financial.
  • Maria Dikeos Syndicated ABL Volume up in 2019, Deal Count Down

    Refinitiv’s director of analytics shares with readers the latest data surrounding the syndicated market.

  • The End of Libor Is a $12 Trillion Headache for Loan Bankers

    The whole financial world is working to move away from Libor and other interbank lending benchmarks, which for decades have been used to set borrowing costs on bonds and loans, as well as products ranging from derivatives to credit cards. Since 2018, more than $150 billion worth of bonds have been sold using rates set by a new generation of benchmarks. The syndicated loan market is lagging far behind, with at least $12 trillion of deals needing to be replaced or rewritten so they follow a Libor alternative. There are no easy fixes in sight despite potential deadlines as early as this year.

  • Gerber Finance Launches Gerber+
    Gerber Finance, a leading finance partner for companies experiencing accelerated growth, is expanding its portfolio and client offerings with the launch of Gerber+. This new division will service businesses seeking a higher level of funding ranging from $10 to $25 million. Gerber Finance currently focuses on facilities up to $10 million. Gerber is also announcing its first Gerber+ client, Molded Acoustical Products (MAP) of Easton, a full-service insulation manufacturing solutions company.

    Gerber has established this new division alongside its parent company, eCapital Corp., ("eCapital"), a leading alternative finance provider, to help companies grow and achieve their mission by accelerating their access to capital. The new division will be led by Senior Vice President Entela Semini, who will serve as Northeast director of Gerber+.

  • Lower Middle Market Strategies Flourish Amid Private Credit Boon

    Lending to companies with just a few million dollars in earnings is gaining greater interest from investors seeking higher yields and better protections as the private credit market grows increasingly segmented and sophisticated.

    Firms are looking to raise funds to target companies in the lower middle market, or companies with an Ebitda of less than US$15m, including Deerpath Capital Management, which wants to raise US$1bn for its lower middle market fund, and PineBridge Investments, which announced it has US$596m to invest. At the same time, Main Street Capital Corp said it is continuing to seek opportunities in this segment.

  • Rachel Hersh Vernon Francois: Prestige Capital Supports Entrepreneur’s Partnership with Sally Beauty

    Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.

    All that practice paid off. When he was just Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.

  • David Morse photo The Main Street Lending Program: Can it Work with an Asset-Based Credit Facility?

    As the Secured Finance Network and its members have examined the Main Street Lending Program, there have been two aspects of the program in particular that have been identified as impacting on the utility of the program for borrowers from asset-based lenders. 

    Both points, along with some others, have been raised in letters from the Secured Finance Network to the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.  And the Secured Finance Network has followed up with specific questions to Treasury arising from the “Main Street Lending Program Frequently Asked Questions” published on July 31, 2020 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the “FAQs”) in understanding what is permitted under the Program that could significantly impact how it may be used with an asset-based facility.

  • Juanita Schwartzkopf How Can Companies Deal with Labor Shortages?

    As of March 31, 2021 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 8.1 million job openings, with 3.1 million open jobs in the south, 1.8 million jobs in the west, 1.3 million jobs in the northeast and 1.8 million jobs in the Midwest. Private job openings are 7.3 million of the total job openings, with 0.8 million government jobs open. The private job openings are across all industries.

    The unemployment rate by state varies dramatically from 2.9% in Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont to 8.3% in California, Connecticut, and New Mexico, 8.5% in New York and 9.0% in Hawaii. The overall unemployment rate is 6.1%.

  • O&G Downturn in 2020 and Why It is Different This Time
    The shock to the U.S. Oil & Gas market in first quarter 2020 was sparked by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, massive oversupply and plummeting demand. This shock is now rapidly accelerating into a crisis for upstream E&P, midstream and oilfield services companies, as well as their many financial partners and stakeholders.  Headlines in the media focus on the "bust cycle" spurred by public company bankruptcies such as Chesapeake Energy and Diamond Offshore.  However, this summer we will hear more about middle-market players reeling from severe short-term impacts and the reality that some wells may not return to profitability (if they really were profitable) anytime soon.  While we do not have a crystal ball to foresee the future, our research and oil price sentiment does not indicate a substantive rebound in pricing-per-barrel before the first quarter of 2021 or later.
  • Ares Commercial Finance has Provided a $45 Million Senior Secured Revolving Line of Credit to Southern States Cooperative, Inc.
    Ares Commercial Finance (“ACF”) announced that it has provided a $45 million senior secured revolving line of credit to Southern States Cooperative, Inc. (“SSC”).  Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, SSC is a retail agricultural cooperative serving the agronomy, energy and farm supply needs of its members and customers across eight states in the Southeastern United States.  Proceeds of the financing were used to refinance their existing credit facility and for ongoing working capital support.
  • The Story of Foothill Capital
    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.
  • JonathanRosen_Synovus Synovus Launches New Specialty Finance Division and Structured Finance Team
    Synovus Bank announced the launch of a new Specialty Finance Division, focused on providing debt capital financing and commercial banking solutions to fund companies operating in niche asset classes. 
  • NneomaMaduike_150 How Diverse Teams Make Successful Companies

    Nneoma Maduike of Otterbourg P.C. discusses the impact a diverse team can have on a company’s performance.

  • Unifrax Obtains Committed Debt Financing from J.P. Morgan Led Consortium to Support Clearlake Capital-Backed Acquisition of Lydall, Inc.
    As previously announced, Unifrax, a leading global provider of high-performance specialty materials focused on thermal management, specialty filtration, battery materials, emission control and fire protection applications backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. ("Clearlake"), signed definitive agreements to acquire Lydall, Inc. (NYSE: LDL, "Lydall" or the "Company"), a leader in the design and production of specialty filtration materials and advanced material solutions.
  • JonathanRosen_Synovus Interview with Jonathan Rosen, Divisional CEO, Specialty Finance, Synovus Bank

    Synovus Bank recently announced a new Specialty Finance Division, focused on providing debt capital financing and commercial banking solutions to fund companies operating in niche asset classes. The division includes a structured finance team and builds on the expertise of Global One Financial, the insurance premium finance lender acquired by Synovus in October of 2016. The division is led by Jonathan Rosen, who founded Global One in 2003 and continues to manage it as chief executive officer of the Specialty Finance Division at Synovus. Here, Jonathan Rosen discusses opportunities and growth late in the credit cycle.

  • Great Rock Capital Announces Justin Anderson Joins as Director of Origination
    Great Rock Capital, an asset-focused commercial finance company specializing in middle-market lending, today announced Justin Anderson has joined the firm as Director of Originations. Anderson will be based in Chicago and is responsible for expanding origination efforts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Iowa, while also working with Jim Clifton, Managing Director of Originations, in the Illinois market.

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