Articles

Citizens announced today that it has provided a new asset-based revolving loan to Warminster, PA-based W. Atlee Burpee Company. Citizens is the sole lender.

Founded in 1876, W. Atlee Burpee Company is engaged in the wholesale distribution, direct marketing and retail sale of vegetable and flower seeds, plants, horticultural and other related products.

Northbrook-based private equity firm plans for succession

Big Shoulders Capital Chairman David Muslin has announced an expanded leadership team as the company plans for the next generation of growth. Joe Prudden has been promoted to President of the company from Chief Financial Officer, Alex Mazer is promoted to Executive Vice President from Vice President, Howard Spivack is promoted to Chief Financial Officer from Finance Director, and Evan Zwerman joins the company as Senior Vice President of Originations.

What are some effective ways to approach management regarding the sensitive topic of compensation, particularly as it relates to peers in the same role, and also within the current overall market?

It is not everyday that you are given an opportunity to live out the career you would have in an alternate universe, but that is exactly what happened to me, thanks to the SFNet Guest Lecture Program and SFNet MidWest Chapter President Jennifer Kempton, who kindly asked me to be the Guest Lecturer.   

Last month, Sarah Fyffe, vice president, Asset Based Lending, BMO Harris Bank, and I were able to virtually present ABL 101 to Professor Gregory Udell’s Entrepreneurial Finance Class at Indiana University on April 5.  It was without a doubt one of the coolest things I have ever done in my career and I am so grateful to have been involved. Education and mentorship are my favorite part of the job and, to do so in a university setting, was an incredible experience.  For Sarah, it was a chance to lecture to a classroom where she once sat as a student in Professor Udell’s class.  Talk about coming full circle!

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Citi and TD Securities are acting as lead arrangers and active bookrunners for the Senior Secured Credit Facilities.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that it has named Chris Esposito as managing director in charge of its newly expanded Asset-Based Lending business.

In this role, Esposito is responsible for managing the Asset-Based Lending team, overseeing the national ABL business, building new client relationships, developing strategies to address new target markets and ensuring outstanding customer service and satisfaction.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that its Asset-Based Lending business served as agent and sole lender on a $75 million revolving credit facility for Skillsoft, a global leader in learning and talent management solutions

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Skillsoft enables organizations to unlock the potential in their employees by delivering a range of digital learning and talent management solutions. The financing will be used to support continuing business operations and growth objectives.

Nneoma Maduike, member of SFNet’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness Committee interviews Anthony C. Hood, PhD, executive vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer of First Horizon National Corp. Dr. Hood is responsible for cultivating and expanding First Horizon’s strategic leadership in developing and implementing programs and initiatives that advance the Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Laura Kemper Glass, vice chair of SFNet’s WISF Committee, is senior vice president and senior portfolio manager for Bank of America Business Capital (BABC), part of the Wholesale Credit division at Bank of America.  

Based in Atlanta, Glass is responsible for the asset-based lending portfolio in the Eastern United States and Europe.  In this role, she leads a team of credit professionals responsible for managing a $20 billion portfolio of credit commitments in the asset-based lending plus related products and solutions.   The team serves clients in a wide range of industries primarily in the middle market and large corporate space.

Here she discusses her career trajectory and current position, leadership and what the finance industry can do to improve diversity.

Bitcoin-mania appears to have no limit, including entering corporate balance sheets with Tesla’s move to buy $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. By doing so, Tesla joins Square and MicroStrategy as a public company with a large bitcoin exposure. The increased bitcoin presence, however, also creates some significant questions that requires answers from corporate financial advisers and the companies themselves.  

Siena Healthcare Finance recently led a $35.0MM asset-based line of credit for a home health company based in New York. The line will be used to support acquisitions and provide working capital for ongoing operations and growth initiatives.

The Company serves over 7,000 clients and provides care to people in their homes or communities, including personal care and companionship, skilled nursing, post-op care, pediatric care, specialized care, and therapy care in the five boroughs of New York City.

White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (“White Oak”), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, announced today that it is expanding its retail offering with the formation of its new National Retail Finance Group to meet the growing demand for custom funding solutions by retail companies pivoting their business models to meet fast-changing market trends, including the industry’s increased investment in ecommerce.

The White Oak teams driving the effort span the U.S. and include this newly formed group led by Bill Kearney, as well as senior regional executives Martin Efron, Charles Sharf, and Gino Clark.

In September, experts from across the industry gathered at the Secured Finance Network’s Annual Cross-Border Lending Summit to discuss Cross-Border ABL.  As we know, common-law jurisdictions such as the UK, Canada, and Australia are a well-trodden path for ABL lenders.  However, other jurisdictions in Europe and wider can be more problematic, and clients of asset-based lenders are looking for liquidity outside of traditional ABL markets.  Some ABL lenders are able to get comfortable with this, but, even then, advance rates are less than optimal and structuring is difficult.  An alternative solution exists:  Trade Receivables Securitization.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that its Equipment Finance business, part of the Business Capital division, has hired new business development leaders for the Northeast, West and Southwest regions.

Wayne Wagner, Mark Johnson and JP DeStefano join CIT as vice presidents for business development on the Industrial team, where they will be responsible for developing dealer relationships throughout the Northeast, West and Southwest, respectively. All will report to Harold Ray, who directs industrial finance for the Equipment Finance business.

Jude Baldo is an associate in the Global Finance group of Sidley Austin LLP, a global law corporate law firm. He is responsible for counseling clients in complex financings across a broad spectrum of platforms, industries, and asset types, including lending and securitization transactions, both domestically and internationally.  Prior to embarking on his legal career, Jude was an associate vice president for a software as a service company, where his experiences with cross-border technology regulations led him to law school. Jude graduated a Regents Scholar from the University of California, Los Angeles and from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law with a JD.

Jude resides in Illinois with his wife, their newborn, and their French bulldog, Celine.

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