D.A. Davidson & Co. acted as financial advisor to Pacific Premier in the transaction and delivered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Pacific Premier. Holland & Knight LLP served as legal counsel to Pacific Premier. Piper Sandler & Co. acted as financial advisor to Opus and delivered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Opus. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal counsel to Opus.

Middle market chief financial officers are facing widespread shifts—from trade wars to digital disruption—but they aren’t backing down from the challenge. According to BDO’s 2020 Middle Market CFO Outlook Survey, 56% of middle market CFOs expect a recession by 2021, but they are forecasting positive performance and forging ahead with growth plans.

FTC Commercial Corporation was launched in 2002 with a strong focus on small and medium-size enterprise. Co-founder Ken Wengrod tapped into his experience, having worked in factoring and retail to create a company that understands the entire trade cycle of manufacturing and importing.

SC&H Capital announced it is expanding its capabilities to service distressed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by adding seven members of the boutique investment banking firm, Equity Partners, to its investment banking advisory team.

Equity Partners is recognized nationally for its work in distressed M&A and has led and managed more than 600 transactions nationally since its founding in 1988. The Easton, Maryland -based firm will cease operations as members of its team take on key roles at SC&H Capital.

LBC Credit Partners (“LBC”), a leading provider of financing solutions to middle market companies, provided a senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of EDSCO Fasteners LLC (“EDSCO” or the “Company”) by MiddleGround Capital. LBC served as Agent and Sole Lead Arranger for the senior secured credit facility.

Huntington Business Credit announced it closed a new $13,400,000 credit facility with Dutchland Plastics, LLC on December 20, 2019.  Proceeds of the facility were used to refinance existing debt and provide ongoing working capital growth financing.        

SFNet President John DePledge, Head of ABL at Leumi Business Credit, and Riemer & Braunstein finance partner, Lon Singer, address the special business and legal considerations involved in lending to a company that operates as a licensee of a famous brand.

Aaron Hughes, Managing Director of Equiniti Riskfactor, a leading provider in the commercial finance industry, examines the SME lending market for the coming year and the importance of risk management to lenders.

Greater focus placed on domestic deals, albeit majority of U.S. M&A leaders acknowledge that capturing full deal value is a growing sore spot.

The whole financial world is working to move away from Libor and other interbank lending benchmarks, which for decades have been used to set borrowing costs on bonds and loans, as well as products ranging from derivatives to credit cards. Since 2018, more than $150 billion worth of bonds have been sold using rates set by a new generation of benchmarks. The syndicated loan market is lagging far behind, with at least $12 trillion of deals needing to be replaced or rewritten so they follow a Libor alternative. There are no easy fixes in sight despite potential deadlines as early as this year.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that it has hired Calvin Navatto as a business development officer in its Commercial Services business.

Navatto will be based in New York City and focus on business development across a wide range of business verticals supported by Commercial Services, including apparel, footwear, housewares, consumer electronics, health and beauty aids and more.

Gerber Finance, the leading finance partner for companies experiencing accelerated growth, today announced the completion of their CEO succession strategy, naming longtime President Jennifer Palmer as CEO with Founder Gerald Joseph transitioning to his new role as strategic advisor and Chairman of the Board.

Great Rock Capital, an asset-focused commercial finance company specializing in middle market lending, today announced Kathleen Auda has joined the firm as Chief Risk Officer. Auda will be responsible for overseeing both the underwriting and portfolio management teams and will report to Stuart Armstrong, CEO and CIO.

New Fortress Energy LLC (NASDAQ: NFE) ("New Fortress" or the "Company") announced today that it has executed a fully committed $800 million term loan facility (the "Term Loan Facility") provided by certain funds and accounts managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "Apollo") (NYSE: APO).