Ares Management Corporation (“Ares”) (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today the final closing of Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund II (“SDL II” or the “Fund”). With total equity commitments of approximately $8 billion, SDL II was significantly oversubscribed relative to its initial target of $4.5 billion.

The facility is for general corporate purposes and has a five-year maturity, with options to extend for up to two more years. The new facility refinances an existing EUR 1,000 million syndicated facility due to mature in May 2023.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor and capital markets advisor, William Blair is acting as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to Corcentric. Citi is acting as capital markets advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is acting as legal counsel to North Mountain. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citi are acting as lead placement agents to North Mountain on the PIPE, William Blair is acting as co-placement agent to North Mountain on the PIPE, and Mayer Brown LLP is acting as legal counsel to the placement agents with respect to the PIPE.

Abacus Finance Group, LLC – a leading provider of cash flow-based, classic senior debt for sponsor-led buyouts of companies with $3 million to $15 million in EBITDA – today announced that it served as Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for senior secured credit facilities to support the refinancing of Rainshadow Labs by Westhook Capital Partners.

QED Investors (QED), a global leading boutique venture capital firm focused on investing in early stage, disruptive financial services companies, announced today that it is forming a partnership with Sound Point Capital Management, LP (Sound Point), a leading alternative asset manager with expertise in the credit space, to create a new asset management business focused on providing debt and receivables financing solutions to early stage FinTech companies.

CloudBees, the leading software delivery platform for enterprises, announced it has closed a $150 million Series F financing round at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion. The company also closed a $95 million debt facility to accelerate growth.

Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal’s (A&M) Global Transaction Advisory Group (TAG) announces the appointment of Chicago-based, Managing Director David Evans. The addition of Mr. Evans to the Global TAG practice expands the firm’s Automotive & Industrials mergers and acquisition (M&A) expertise.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Senior Mandated Lead Arranger (SMLA) for a new USD 3.25Bn syndicated Credit Agreement under its Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework (the “Framework”) for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (“CEMEX”), a Mexico-based worldwide leading vertically integrated building materials company. Crédit Agricole CIB at the same time also executed its inaugural Sustainability-Linked Cross-Currency Swap (EURUSD) in the Americas.

Based in Atlanta, Loughead joined Regions in 2018 as a managing director for the Financial Services Group. Over the last three years, he has served an integral role in developing the team’s strategy for structuring and executing credit services, capital markets solutions, and strategic transactions for companies and private equity sponsors active in the financial services industry.

Jefferies Credit Partners ("JCP"), a leading private credit manager and the asset management arm of Jefferies Finance LLC, today announced the appointment of Steve Marino as Head of Investor Solutions. Jefferies Finance is a joint venture of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) and MassMutual.

Crestmark, the Commercial Finance Division of MetaBank®, N.A., secured a total of $13,600,000 in ABL/factoring financial solutions for 23 new clients; Crestmark Equipment Finance provided $24,804,003 in 29 new transactions; Crestmark Vendor Finance provided $9,938,833 in 76 new transactions; the Government Guaranteed Lending group provided $8,195,000 in financing for three new clients; and the Joint Ventures group provided $1,007,250 in one new transaction in the month of November.

Falcone Capital Holdings, LLC, a holding company of award winning, technology driven international and domestic transportation brands, is pleased to announce the renewal signing of a $10-million-dollar revolving credit facility with InterNex Capital, LLC. The extended partnership was driven by two years of stellar growth across the entire Falcone Brand of Companies.

The electrical contractor client is a minority, family, and woman-owned electrical contractor focused on commercial, industrial and residential projects and maintenance services. The company has served the Illinois community for almost 100 years.

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. acted as the lead left arranger and joint Bookrunner together with KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Regions Capital Markets, A Division Of Regions Bank, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Manufacturers And Traders Trust Company.

Sidley is pleased to announce the names of its 42 newly elected partners and 20 lawyers newly promoted to counsel, listed below by office and area of practice. These individuals will become partners and counsel in the firm effective January 1, 2022. “This class of partners and counsel embody our talent, teamwork, results ethos,” said Mike Schmidtberger, chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “They are world-class lawyers from offices across the globe devoted to their clients and their colleagues. We are proud to have them join the partnership or advance to counsel in the new year.”

365 Data Centers, a leading network-centric colocation provider to carrier, content and enterprise customers in strategic edge markets, today announced that it has refinanced all of its existing debt and secured additional financing commitments from TD Securities, ING Capital LLC, CIT Group, Regions Capital Markets, and Boundary Street Capital.

Espresso Capital announced today that it has provided True Fit, the global data and software leader retailers choose to decode fit & size, with a $15 million credit facility. The company will use the capital to make further enhancements to its product and scale its distribution.

Bridge Bank today announced the hiring of Dave Bhagat as senior managing director of the International Banking Group. In his new role, Bhagat will manage the foreign exchange sales and trading team, the trade finance and EXIM team, and correspondent banking and multi-currency accounts; lead the development of new FX and interest rate hedging solutions; and work to increase awareness of the group's sizable capabilities.

Columbia Pacific Advisors' business finance strategy, CPBF, a direct lender to non-sponsored and sponsor-backed emerging growth and middle market companies, today announced it has delivered a $30 million senior secured term loan to Esports Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBET), a Las Vegas based iGaming technology company focused on developing and operating esports gaming platforms.

Comvest Credit Partners (“Comvest”), a leading provider of flexible financing solutions to middle-market companies, has acted as Administrative Agent in providing a senior secured credit facility to support the carve-out of Avera eCare from Avera Health by Aquiline Capital Partners, a private investment firm. The new company, called Avel eCare, is a national leader in delivering telemedicine care.