Blue Owl Capital (NYSE: OWL), a leading alternative asset manager, today announced it acquired Ascentium Group Limited to establish its physical presence in Hong Kong.

Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (“Lakeland”) (NASDAQ: LBAI), the parent company of Lakeland Bank, and 1st Constitution Bancorp (“1st Constitution”) (NASDAQ: FCCY), the parent company of 1st Constitution Bank, announced that on December 10, 2021, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued a non-objection to Lakeland’s request to waive the application requirement in connection with the proposed merger of 1st Constitution with and into Lakeland. The companies have now received all regulatory approvals and non-objections in connection with the proposed merger.

iwetinohk Energy Corp. (“Kiwetinohk” or the Corporation”) is pleased to announce a 40 percent increase to its Senior Secured Extendible Revolving Facility (or “Credit Facility”). Kiwetinohk’s existing lenders, Bank of Montreal as agent and co-leads ATB Financial and National Bank of Canada, have completed their semi-annual borrowing base redetermination and have agreed to amend the Credit Facility and increase the borrowing limit from $225 million to $315 million.

KBRA, a full-service global rating agency committed to innovation and integrity, today announced it has entered a deal with leading growth-oriented private equity firm Parthenon Capital Partners who will acquire a majority stake in the company. KBRA is the largest global credit rating agency founded in the wake of the global financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., BofA Securities, Inc., and Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the Credit Facility. Associated Bank, National Association, Citizens Bank, N.A., KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., and U.S. Bank National Association also acted as joint lead arrangers.

Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO Jim Herbert will take a medical leave of absence from his executive position in response to a recent medical recommendation regarding a coronary health issue. Hafize Gaye Erkan will continue to serve as Co-CEO, as well as assume additional responsibilities. The Board of Directors has appointed Mike Roffler President, effective January 1, 2022.

FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BOLD, a leading restructuring, transactions, digital and transformation advisory firm in the Netherlands. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2022. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE: SMRT) (the “Company” or “SmartRent”), a leading provider of smart home and smart building automation for property owners, managers, developers, homebuilders, and residents, today announced that it has entered into a $75.0 million Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolving Facility”) with a five-year term.

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), today announced that it has amended and extended its Senior Secured Credit Facility. The amendment extends the maturity date of the revolving credit facility under the credit agreement to December 9th, 2026 (which is also the maturity date for the term loan A) and increases the borrowing capacity under the Senior Secured Credit Facility to $1.9 billion, inclusive of the $400 million delayed draw term loan A.

Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc., the leading factoring, asset based lending and purchase order financing firm in the U.S., today announced it has upsized its recent inventory purchase commitment to support the production financing requirements of a California-based importer and distributor of solar panels, increasing the initial $30 million commitment to $60 million.

AmeriFactors Financial Group, LLC, a leader in business funding and accounts receivable financing, continues to help thousands of businesses nationwide across a wide variety of industries. They are pleased to announce the following recent deals through accounts receivable financing.

Triumph Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBK) today announced the election of Harrison Barnes to its board of directors. A professional athlete since 2012, Barnes is currently a professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He currently serves on the board of directors of First National Bank (Ames, IA), the largest bank subsidiary of Ames National Corporation (Nasdaq: ATLO).

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX), the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, today announced the closing of a $375 million Senior Secured Term Loan B Facility.

Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP, the European specialist investor in global healthcare, announces its investment in Biocare Medical (“Biocare”), a leading developer of world-class immunohistochemistry (“IHC”) and in situ hybridization (“ISH”) reagents for cancer diagnosis and chromosomal profiling. Existing investor Excellere Partners, a US-based private equity firm shall remain a significant partner in the company alongside GHO.

Audax Private Debt announced that, as Administrative Agent and sole investor, it provided a Second Lien Credit Facility supporting Wind Point Partners’ (“Wind Point”) acquisition of good2grow (“Company”), a national provider of clean label children’s juice and other beverage products. Terms of the credit facility were not disclosed.

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.

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.