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FrontWell Capital Partners Provides US $10.5 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility to Belcam Beauty

FrontWell Capital Partners Inc. (“FrontWell”) is pleased to announce the closing of a US $10.5 million senior secured credit facility to Belcam Beauty Holdco, LLC (“Belcam Beauty"), a leading manufacturer, developer, and marketer of beauty and grooming products. The facility, comprised of a revolving loan and term loan, will provide working capital liquidity and support Belcam Beauty’s strategic acquisition and growth opportunities.

Anatomy of a Deal: Non-Bank ABL Solutions - Maximizing Availability and Flexibility

White Oak executives detail a complex deal that unlocked substantial liquidity for an asset-heavy borrower in a non-traditional ABL industry.

FrontWell Capital Partners Announces Launch of Private Credit Fund Focused on Middle-Market Companies in U.S. and Canada

FrontWell Capital Partners (“FrontWell”) today announced its launch as a private credit fund focused on providing transitionary senior debt financing to middle-market companies in the United States and Canada. FrontWell will begin operations immediately with committed seed capital of more than USD $350 million from a group of international investors.

Headquartered in Toronto, FrontWell offers creative, value-added financing solutions, including asset-based (ABL) and cash flow loans, to maximize liquidity support for borrowers that are looking beyond traditional sources of capital.

The Best of Both Worlds: How Community Banks and Asset-Based Lenders Partner to Serve SMEs

Community banks play a vital role in enabling local businesses and communities to thrive. By either offering asset-based lending as part of their product off erings or partnering with a nonbank asset-based lender, community banks can off er the best of both worlds to small and mid-sized businesses. The Secured Finance Network interviewed several of its members who shared their experiences and perspectives.

Problem Loan? No Problem

Economic cycles and the related recessions are always challenging for lenders to work through. The current economic environment brought on by a pandemic is without precedent and it is hard to predict how businesses and the economy will react in both the short and long term. It is unlikely any lender was prescient enough to have underwritten a pandemic as a risk. We are all now working in unchartered territory as we await the effects of the pandemic to fully unfold. Will there be a second outbreak? Will there be a near-term recovery? How will the recovery look? V-shaped or flat? However, the basic principles for managing a problem loan all apply to the current environment.

Flexible Workplace Arrangements – Attracting and Retaining Talent in the Current Environment

The secured finance industry, just like so many others, has demanded that remote work become the “norm.” Will this change better enable the industry to attract and retain top talent?

Rosenthal Provides Multi-Million Dollar Factoring Facilities for Multiple Southeast Furniture Companies

Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc., the leading independent factoring, asset based lending and purchase order financing firm in the United States, today announced the completion of several non-recourse factoring deals with multiple furniture companies in Texas and North Carolina.

After a former Rosenthal client sold its furniture business to a well-known furniture brand in 2019, they reached out to Rosenthal to discuss funding for a new company. The client was seeking financing for several of its furniture businesses, both start-ups and established brands, all of which were experiencing cash flow issues as well as credit coverage concerns. Rosenthal was able to offer a non-recourse factoring solution to cover both.

SG Credit Opens Denver, CO Office

SG Credit Partners today announced that Spencer Brown has been promoted to Managing Director and has opened a Colorado office. In this role, he will continue leading the coverage efforts for originating and closing structured cash flow, collateral based, recurring revenue, high net worth and special situations credit facilities in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions.

Context Business Lending Increases its Investment Power

Context Business Lending, LLC ("CBL") a family office-backed leading, national asset-based lender, has grown its investing power by increasing its warehouse line by bringing Texas Capital Bank as Joint Lead Arranger into its warehouse facility, led by CIBC Bank USA as agent. CBL has enjoyed tremendous growth in its quest to disrupt asset-based lending (ABL), nearly quadrupling its portfolio in 2020. The enhanced credit facility will enable CBL to keep costs down and facilitate further portfolio growth.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Monroe Capital Closes on $4.8 Billion of Direct Lending Funds

Monroe Capital LLC (“Monroe”) today announced the final close of its 2022 Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund IV (“Fund”) with $4.8 billion of investable capital, including targeted fund leverage and separately managed accounts investing alongside the Fund. The Fund has limited partner commitments with over 300 investors in 17 countries. The Fund primarily targets private equity sponsored and non-sponsored, lower middle-market U.S. companies with less than $35 million in EBITDA.

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.

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.

Syndicated ABL Volume up in 2019, Deal Count Down

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

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