Ares Commercial Finance announced today that it has provided a $35.0 million Private Trade Receivables Securitization Facility to a behavioral health treatment services organization, a portfolio company of a top-tier global private equity firm.

Financial and collateral review? Check. Appropriate lender agreements, carveouts and lien perfection? Check. Review of borrower’s cybersecurity policies and procedures? Can you repeat that? When it comes to lender due diligence and documentation, organizations are well versed with modeling, credit procedures and deal structures; however, there is a continually growing blind spot that lenders cannot afford to ignore: Cybersecurity. 

Morgan Lewis will bolster its finance team by bringing in five partners in New York—a transactional restructuring and bankruptcy litigation team led by Richard Stern and including Michael Luskin, Stephan Hornung, Matthew O’Donnell, and Alex Talesnick. This team will further strengthen the firm’s services to financial institutions across corporate, finance, bankruptcy, litigation, and restructuring needs.

Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring and investment firm, and Nations Capital Inc. (NCI) have joined forces to expand the firms’ commercial and industrial market presence and serve a broader range of clients with holistic solutions.

Gordon Brothers’ majority investment in NCI will bolster both firms’ existing commercial and industrial capabilities in North America, which include asset-focused solutions across valuations, dispositions, financing and investment.

Change is the great shapeshifter of existence. It is the unseen artist who paints the landscape of our lives with broad strokes of innovation and evolution. In the world of secured finance, change is manifesting through a potent and promising medium—Artificial Intelligence (AI). One particular AI innovation, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is at the frontier of this change, offering a path filled with opportunities and potential challenges.

Legacy Corporate Lending, LLC (“Legacy”), an independent asset-based lending (ABL) company focused on serving the needs of middle market companies across North America, today announced the completion of a $10 million asset-based revolving line of credit for Franklin Baker Incorporated (“Franklin Baker”). The facility will be used to support the company’s ongoing working capital needs and continued growth.

As the chair of the SFNet’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Committee I meet with my committee composed of industry volunteers to discuss our mission of  building diversity, equality and inclusion within our member companies, industry, and community.  We seek to identify the issues and create awareness of the challenges, provide resources for improvements, and demonstrate sustained measurable positive outcomes throughout our SFNet community.

eCapital Corp. (“eCapital” or “the Company”), a leading technology-enabled provider of financing to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across North America and the U.K., announced a $110 million increase to the syndicated bank facility supporting its asset-based lending (ABL) group. The upsize brings the total facility size to $570 million. Wells Fargo Bank acted as administrative agent for the lenders and, with Regions Bank, acted as joint lead arrangers and joint book runners for the facility.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, along with the Federal Reserve and FDIC released their long anticipated interagency Notice of Rulemaking. The Proposal, which will be subject to a comment period through November 30, 2023, incorporates final components of the Basel III agreement and lays out significant changes to capital requirements for banks with over $100B in total assets. 

Breakout Capital, a leading fintech company simplifying access to capital for small businesses, announced today the completion of a $45 million credit facility in which Synovus Bank will provide the senior credit facility and an Austin, Texas-based credit fund, will provide the subordinate credit facility.  Under the terms of the agreement, Breakout may now obtain funding through Synovus by accessing $35 million of committed capacity with an additional $10 million uncommitted.

First Citizens Bank today announced that its Energy Finance group, part of the CIT division, served as sole lead arranger on $211 million in financing for the 200-megawatt Oak Solar power plant in Gaston, North Carolina.

Blank Rome LLP announced today the opening of a new office in Dallas—the firm’s 15^th office and second in Texas—with the addition of seven attorneys. Aligning with Blank Rome’s core strengths, the Dallas team is a powerhouse combination of leading corporate, real estate, and finance attorneys with national practices. The new office is located at The Crescent in Uptown. 

First Citizens Bank today announced that its Hemp Business provided a $1 million working capital line of credit to RYJO, parent entity of The Georgia Hemp Company, to help finance a major new promotional initiative.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE: RYAM) (“RYAM”), a global leader in the production of high-purity cellulose specialties and other sustainable materials, is pleased to announce that it has obtained $250 million in aggregate principal amount of secured term loan financing (the “Term Loan”) from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).

SFNet, through its Advocacy Committee, has created the SFNet Guide to the New York Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws and Regulations.

SFNet pleased to provide its members with what it believes is the most comprehensive Guide to complying with the controversial New York Disclosure Regulations for Commercial Finance Transactions that go into effect August 1, 2023. The Regulations apply to non-regulated commercial institutions offering financial transactions of $2.5 million or less to New York borrowers.

Huntington Business Credit acting as Administrative Agent announced it closed a $70,000,000 new credit facility with Express Funeral Funding, LLC on June 23, 2023.  Proceeds of the facility were used to refinance existing debt and provide ongoing working capital financing.

Nassau Financial Group, L.P. (“Nassau”) today announced the formation of Nassau Global Credit (“NGC”), which combines Angel Island Capital Management (“AIC”) and Nassau Corporate Credit (“NCC”). NGC will be a subsidiary of Nassau’s asset management segment, Nassau Asset Management, and will be led by Alexander Dias as Chief Executive Officer and Jonathan Insull as Chief Investment Officer.

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the world’s largest provider of health care solutions to office-based dental and medical professionals, today announced that it has closed on a new $750 million credit facility with a maturity date of July 2026.  JP Morgan Securities LLC and U.S. Bank NA acted as Joint Lead Arrangers with respect to the new credit facility.

The present economic cycle distinguishes itself from previous credit crises due to the influence of unforeseeable elements that are driving inflationary pressures. Consequently, lenders find themselves navigating an extended period of ambiguity. Instead of encountering a swift surge of defaults, we anticipate a turbulent environment that demands the collective willingness of all involved parties to adapt terms and effectively address distress. 

“The secured finance industry is far-reaching with intertwined sectors and an abundance of opportunity," said Jennifer Palmer, SFNet President and CEO and founder of JPalmer Collective. "In the last year, we’ve focused on building alliances with industry organizations and educating them about the financing options available. As a result, we’re seeing an increase in awareness – which we expect to translate to utilization – of secured finance and opportunities for many of our members.”