ORIX USA has expanded its leveraged finance team with the hiring of Ben Harris as a new Director. Mr. Harris will be responsible for new business development.
Prior to joining ORIX USA, Mr. Harris was with Prospect Capital and previously worked in the sponsor finance unit of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Arcapita’s private equity group. He received a BS from University College London and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Harris will work with New York-based Managing Director Geoffrey Chang – who joined ORIX USA in October 2014 and is responsible for originating and executing investments. Mr. Change was previously a Managing Director at Prospect Capital and, before that, a founding member and Partner at both PennantPark Investment Corporation and Audax Mezzanine. He has a BA degree from Harvard.
“We are pleased to augment our leveraged finance team by launching a dedicated New York presence for our group,” said Ted Thorp, Managing Director and Group Co-Head of ORIX Leveraged Finance. “Geoffrey and Ben both have strong track records of helping private equity groups and the companies they sponsor achieve their investment objectives via well-constructed capital structures, and we look forward to leveraging their relationships and expertise.”
ORIX Leveraged Finance, a business unit of ORIX USA Corporation, provides from $5 million to $50 million of debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized businesses that have from $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA. Since its founding in 2004, the group has closed over 300 financings, committing nearly $4 billion of capital. ORIX Leveraged Finance is based in Dallas (www.orix.com).
“ORIX Leveraged Finance is a key growth engine for the company and has a long, successful track record of deploying capital within the middle-market,” said Hideto Nishitani, Chairman and CEO of ORIX USA. “We look forward to the contributions of both Geoffrey and Ben in our efforts to widen the reach of our professionals and financial products across the Americas.”
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-27-15
