Abacus Finance Group was the Administrative Agent and Sole Lead Arranger for $37 million in senior secured credit facilities to support Bunker Hill Capital’s investment in Taos Mountain. Abacus also made an equity co-investment in Taos Mountain.
Taos Mountain is a provider of IT consulting services including planning, designing, building, and running client IT infrastructure. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in San Jose (www.taos.com).
Bunker Hill makes control investments in lower middle market companies with EBITDAs between $5 million and $20 million, and enterprise values between $30 million and $120 million. Sectors of interest include industrial products, business services, consumer products, and specialty retail. The firm has offices in Boston and San Diego (www.bunkerhillcapital.com).
“We knew from past experience that the Abacus team would deliver. Timing was a critical factor, and they worked fast and efficiently,” said Mark DeBlois, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Bunker Hill. In July 2015, Abacus was the Administrative Agent and Joint Lead Arranger for $47 million in senior secured credit facilities to support Bunker Hill’s buy ASPEQ Heating Group – a St. Louis-based maker of electric-heating and thermal-management products. As with Taos Mountain, Abacus also made an equity co-investment in ASPEQ. “Our relationship with Abacus is a long one built on mutual trust, and we know exactly what to expect when working with their team,” said Mr. DeBlois.
Abacus Finance was formed in June 2011 and is led by Tim Clifford, President and CEO. “Taos Mountain is a solid company with a strong business platform, and excellent management,” said Mr. Clifford. “Our knowledge of the information technology sector enabled us to move quickly and offer certainty of close early in the process.” Other Abacus team members involved in the transaction included Sean McKeever and Brian Green.
Abacus Finance provides cash flow senior financing to private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $50 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $30 million. Abacus is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust, the holding company for Emigrant Bank, founded in 1850, the largest privately held bank in America with approximately $10 billion in assets. Abacus is based in New York (www.abacusfinance.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-16-15
