Hunter Street Partners ("Hunter Street"), a Minneapolis-based alternative investment management firm, has partnered with Five Crowns Credit Partners ("Five Crowns") to provide an $11 million senior secured term loan to finance TriStruX, the holding company resulting from a merger between Telcom Engineering Group and one of its regional competitors Leone Electric Company.

GNC's parent company, GNC Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Tuesday, and the health and wellness retailer said it plans to close "at least 800 to 1,200 stores," or approximately a quarter of its North American fleet. GNC was slammed by yearslong sales declines that made it impossible to meet enormous debt obligations coming due this year.

WSFS Bank, the primary subsidiary of WSFS Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: WSFS), today announced the promotion of Jim Wechsler to Senior Vice President, Chief Retail Lending Officer reporting to Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer, Richard Wright. Wechsler will be responsible for Consumer Lending, Small Business, Government Guaranteed Lending, Community Reinvestment and NewLane Finance. He will also manage the bank’s fintech lending relationships. Wechsler is replacing Glenn Kocher, who is retiring.

Santander Bank today announced that its Commercial Banking division acted as joint lead arranger for a $175 million term loan and $50 million revolver to Purolite Corporation ("Purolite") to facilitate additional spending on capital projects and enhance liquidity. The deal will enable Purolite, the second largest international manufacturer of ion-exchange resins, to replenish its previous senior secured facility and maintain the rate of its business growth.

Crestmark Equipment Finance provided $15,319,877 in four new lease transactions; Crestmark Vendor Finance provided $8,710,820 in 121 new lease transactions; and the Government Guaranteed Lending group provided $5,050,000 in financing for two new clients in the first half of June.

Encina Business Credit, LLC (EBC) announced today that it has provided a $35 million senior secured credit facility to a leading retailer and distributor of paint and paint supplies. The facility consists of a senior secured revolving line of credit based on accounts receivable and inventory.

Bank of America acted as sole Lead Arranger for the ABL Facility and Pathlight Capital acted as sole Lead Arranger for the Term Loan. Jefferies LLC acted as a financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal advisor to Armstrong Flooring.

Goldgroup Mining Inc. ("Goldgroup" or the "Company") (TSX:GGA, OTC:GGAZF, BMV SIX:GGAN.MX) is pleased to announce that it has signed an indicative term sheet (the "Term Sheet") in respect of a secured loan facility (the "Facility") with Accendo Banco S.A., Multiple Banking Institution (the "Lender"), in the amount of USD$3,000,000 (the "Facility Amount").

Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring, and investment firm, announced today that Cindi Giglio has joined its legal function as Associate General Counsel, with primary responsibility for Retail and Commercial & Industrial transactions in North America. Meanwhile, Corporate Counsel Ben Olushola takes on an expanded role as Associate General Counsel for the enterprise, and continues to serve as lead counsel for Gordon Brothers’ International business from his current base in London.

Cavotec has during the past months conducted a competitive process to procure a new long term credit facility, resulting in competing bids involving several bank consortia. After careful evaluation Cavotec has chosen a consortium led by Credit Suisse to provide a five-year credit facility as it offered the most competitive overall services and terms.

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE: DESP), (“Despegar” or the “Company”) the leading online travel company in Latin America, today announced that it has signed a $40 million committed revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) with Citibank. The Facility has a 1-year term, renewable for an additional six months if certain financial covenants are met. This financing provides Despegar with additional financial flexibility with funds expected to be used for general corporate purposes.

Ares Management Corporation (“Ares”) (NYSE:ARES) announced today that it is serving as the lead arranger for a £1.875 billion financing commitment to The Ardonagh Group (“Ardonagh”), the U.K.’s largest independent insurance broker, through Ares’ global direct lending platform. Ardonagh is majority owned by HPS Investment Partners ("HPS") and Madison Dearborn Partners. In addition to direct lending funds managed by Ares, other significant lenders include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”), HPS and KKR.

Ann Taylor’s debt-laden owner seems to be taking a page from Penney’s path to bankruptcy. Executive retention bonus payouts appear to be the newest clue that portends a potential bankruptcy filing, with Ascena Retail Group the latest fashion firm that may be headed in that direction.

Sallyport Commercial Finance arranges a $2,000,000 accounts receivable facility including a $500,000 cash flow loan to a company that provides due diligence and document management solutions.

Acquisition enhances B. Riley platform and expands financial advisory consulting services and capabilities. Alderney’s team of experienced crisis and turnaround advisors join B. Riley’s GlassRatner affiliate.

Certain funds managed by Lapis Advisers, LP and Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc., filed a chapter 11 plan of reorganization in US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division to restructure the financially challenged Clare Oaks community. They laid out their restructuring plan (the Bondholders Plan) for the continued operation of Clare Oaks with minimal disruption to the residents.

Access Capital has structured a credit facility for $1.5 million for the California-based company truData Solutions, a data centric firm focused on partnering with clients in building analytics and data integration capabilities leveraged through Cloud solutions.

Athenex, Inc. (“Athenex” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ATNX), a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and related conditions, today announced that it has entered into a $225 million loan agreement with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”), a leading global investment firm (the “Agreement”).

Banks and borrowers are being forced to get creative on debt financings, putting in place sub-optimal structures in a bid to complete M&A transactions. A £4bn unfunded credit facility to back the US$38bn merger of the British businesses of Liberty Global and Telefonica; and a US$1.3bn club loan backing KKR’s acquisition of a 60% stake in US-based cosmetics maker Coty’s hair and nail care business were both innovative financings, designed to overcome the challenges that come with bringing such large deals to market during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SierraConstellation Partners, LLC (SCP), a national interim management and advisory firm to middle-market companies in transition, today announced the formation of a Senior Advisor Council to the firm. The Council will consist of experienced senior executives who have held C-level positions at firms in specific industries that have gone through restructurings, bankruptcies, and performance turnarounds. Each advisor will offer their unique expertise in a consulting capacity on SCP assignments in their respective industries.