Financing

O2 Sponsor Finance, a division of Old Second National Bank, provided the senior bank financing to back the acquisitions by Soundcore Capital Partners of ACI Asphalt & Concrete (ACI) and ACS Asphalt Concrete Solutions (ACS).

Soundcore specializes in North America-based buy-and-build investments in the lower middle market. Target companies typically have revenues up to $150 million and are active in business and outsourced services, industrial services, specialty manufacturing, and value-added distribution sectors.

New York City-headquartered Soundcore formed its ACI Holdings platform to acquire ACI in July 2022 and in January 2023 added on with the buy of ACS. O2 Sponsor Finance was the senior secured credit facilities administrative agent and lead arranger for the more than $44 million in senior secured credit facilities used in these transactions.

ACI is a provider of asphalt and concrete installation, maintenance, and repair services to commercial parking lot and multi-family homeowner associations. The company, led by founder and CEO Jim Bebo and President Justin Pomerleau, is headquartered northwest of Minneapolis in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

ACS is a provider of asphalt and concrete installation, maintenance, and repair services for commercial and multi-family homeowner association customers in the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area. The company is headquartered 15 miles north of Minneapolis in Blaine, Minnesota.

“The combination of ACI and ACS creates the true market leader in the Minneapolis/Twin Cities area,” said Thom Karle, a senior vice president at O2 Sponsor Finance. “The combination is evidence of Soundcore’s commitment to their targeted buy-and-build growth strategy in the commercial paving space.”

In addition to the facilities made available by O2 Sponsor Finance, co-lender senior financing was provided by Old National Bank, and Northstar Capital provided subordinated debt financing.

O2 Sponsor Finance is a national provider of cash flow-based loans to lower middle market businesses with $10 million to $100 million in revenue and $2 million to $10 million in EBITDA. Typical investment sizes range from $5 million to $25 million with syndication capabilities up to $60 million. The firm focuses on supporting private equity sponsors, independent sponsors, and family offices in their acquisition or recapitalization of lower middle market companies.

Chicago-headquartered O2 Sponsor Finance was formed by Old Second Bancorp in January 2022 and is led by President Joe Gaffigan, the former president and co-founder of TCF Capital Funding. Mr. Gaffigan led TCF Capital Funding from 2012 to 2021 until TCF Bank was acquired by Huntington National Bank in June 2021. He remained with Huntington as the president of its sponsor finance unit until spinning out to join Old Second to form O2 Sponsor Finance.

Old Second Bancorp has $5.9 billion in assets and is headquartered near Chicago in Aurora, Illinois. O2 Sponsor Finance is headquartered in Chicago.

Mr. Gaffigan can be reached via email at [email protected] and Mr. Karle can be reached at [email protected].

© 2023 Private Equity Professional | April 11, 2023

Eureka Equity Partners has acquired Advertiser Perceptions with senior debt and an equity co-investment from Abacus Finance. Abacus was the Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Sole Lender.

Advertiser Perceptions is a provider of research-based data, market intelligence, and analysis to the media, advertising, and ad tech industries. The company was founded in 2002 by Ken Pearl and Randy Cohen and is headquartered in New York City.

“Abacus provided us with tremendous support early on in this transaction and fully delivered on their promise to provide seamless execution,” said Lisa Millhauser, a principal at Eureka Equity. “We are excited to be partnering with Abacus in support of Advertiser Perception’s continued growth.”

Abacus provides cash flow-based senior financing to private equity and family office-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $50 million. Since Abacus’s founding in June 2011, it has closed over $3 billion in financings. Abacus, led by President and CEO Tim Clifford, is headquartered in New York City and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust which was founded in 1850.

“We were pleased to have had the opportunity to complete our first transaction with the Eureka Equity team,” said Mr. Clifford. “Our ability to meet Eureka’s desire for a smooth execution in a short timeframe is just one of the many attributes of our Total Partnership Approach™.”

The Abacus transaction team included Vice President Joseph Lee and Associate Greg Scanlon.

“Eureka Equity was great to work with in this transaction, and they brought us a standout company,” said Mr. Lee. “Advertiser Perceptions is a highly attractive, niche business offering a full suite of products and services within a growing market.”

Philadelphia-based Eureka Equity makes control and non-control investments in companies with up to $100 million in revenue. Sectors of interest include business services, health care services, specialty manufacturing and consumer products.

© 2023 Private Equity Professional | March 31, 2023

Abacus Finance is continuing its active support of private equity buyouts with the close of new transactions for Thompson Street Capital Partners, American Pacific Group, Pine Tree Equity, and WestView Capital.

In December, Abacus provided $34.5 million of debt to support American Pacific’s acquisition of Media 1 Digital Imaging Solutions, a distributor and integrator of private label and third-party wide-format, digital textile printing products including consumable textiles and fabric, ink, paper, and solvent; equipment, accessories, and replacement parts.

Media 1’s core markets are display banners, flags, and trade show graphics, however, it recently entered the home décor and apparel sectors. Media One is headquartered near Los Angeles in Garden Grove, California.

Abacus acted as the Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for the credit facilities used for the buy of Media 1 with Seth Friedman and Greg Scanlon leading the Abacus transaction team.

“American Pacific was great to work with on this transaction, and they brought us a standout company,” said Mr. Friedman. “Media 1 is a highly attractive, niche business offering a full suite of products and services.”

San Francisco-headquartered American Pacific is a lower middle market generalist investor with direct experience in the technology, consumer, industrial, healthcare, and business services sectors. In December 2022, American Pacific closed its second fund, American Pacific Group Fund II LP, at an oversubscribed hard cap of $700 million.

“The Media 1 transaction process was handled smoothly, and the Abacus team executed the transaction rapidly,” said Fraser Preston, a managing partner at American Pacific. “The Abacus deal team dug deep into the company to learn the business and the industry and closed the transaction in just three weeks – a tremendous effort on their part.”

Abacus provides cash flow-based senior financing to private equity and family office-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $50 million. Since Abacus’s founding in June 2011, it has closed over $3 billion in financings. Abacus, led by President and CEO Tim Clifford, is headquartered in New York City and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust which was founded in 1850.

“We are excited to have had the opportunity to close our first transaction with the team from American Pacific,” said Mr. Clifford. “Securing this new relationship is a reflection of our ability to provide speed, cash-flow flexibility, and certainty of close – key aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach.”

Also closing in December was Thompson Street’s acquisition of Sabai Global, a provider of biosafety consulting services. Sabai operates through three subsidiaries – Clinical Biosafety Services, Castle IRB, and Shield Consulting – and provides regulatory review and biosafety consulting services to pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations, academic health systems, and clinical research site networks. Sabai is led by CEO Chris Jenkins and is headquartered near St. Louis in Chesterfield, Missouri.

For the buy of Sabai Global, Abacus was the Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Sole Lender for a package of senior secured credit facilities that backed Thompson Street. Importantly, Abacus also made an equity co-investment in the business.

“As in past transactions, we were impressed by the Abacus team’s speed of execution and ease of documentation. Once again, they were responsive, flexible, easy to work with, and able to provide certainty of closure early,” said Mark Chan, a vice president at Thompson Street.

St. Louis-based Thompson Street makes equity investments of $50 million to $250 million in companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million. Sectors of interest include healthcare and life science services, software and technology services, and business and consumer products and services.

“Our longstanding partnership with Thompson Street, which shares our lower middle-market focus, has become one of our best client relationships,” said Mr. Clifford. “We know that when they come to us with a transaction, it will involve a high-quality company like Sabai Group.”

The Abacus transaction team for the buy of Sabai Group was led by Managing Director and COO Sean McKeever, Vice President Joseph Lee, and Associate Greg Scanlon.

“What is important to Thompson Street – in addition to speed and certainty of close – is our flexibility in structuring transactions and the emphasis we place on exceptional client service – all part of our Total Partnership Approach,” said Mr. McKeever.

Beyond the recent transactions with American Pacific and Thompson Street, Abacus also provided financing for Pine Tree Equity’s December 2022 acquisition of Marshall & Stevens, a Los Angeles-headquartered provider of middle market valuation and advisory services; and the January 2023 acquisition of Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI) by WestView Capital Partners. MMI is a Salt Lake City-headquartered SaaS provider of data intelligence, analytics and sales enablement software to the mortgage and real estate industry. Abacus also made an equity co-investment in MMI to support the transaction.

“We knew we could rely on Abacus despite the general state of today’s credit markets,” said Kevin Twomey, a principal at WestView. “They quickly understood the business model and market opportunity and provided us with a credit package designed to support both our investment and the company’s future growth.”

“This is the 15th platform we have closed with Westview since the founding of Abacus in 2011,” said Mr. Clifford. “Consistent with all historical transactions, we were once again impressed by their thoughtful investment thesis.”

In January, WestView announced the closing of its fifth fund, WestView Capital Partners V LP, with $1 billion of oversubscribed and hard cap capital. Since its founding in 2004, Boston-based WestView has raised $2.7 billion in capital, invested in 54 companies, and closed 32 liquidity events that generated more than $2.2 billion in cash proceeds.

© 2023 Private Equity Professional | February 23, 2023

Abacus Finance Group has provided senior secured debt to support the acquisition of Summit Clinical Research by LongueVue Capital. Abacus also made an equity co-investment.

Summit Clinical Research (SCR) is an integrated research organization that specializes in Hepatology, a branch of medicine concerned with the study, prevention, diagnosis, and management of diseases that affect the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Within Hepatology, SCR specializes in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. Three-quarters of Summit’s studies are dedicated to NASH therapeutics, while the remaining 25% are focused on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver extension, and liver cirrhosis.

SCR operates a network of more than 95 research sites across the United States, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, Argentina, Italy, and Mexico. Through its site network, SCR works alongside providers and patients – both in-person and remotely – to increase participation in clinical trials and reduce administrative costs. SCR’s customers include pharmaceutical, biotech, and drug development companies. SCR was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Abacus funded the senior secured debt for LongVue’s buy of SCR as both Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Sole Lender. “Once again, great work by the Abacus team,” said LongueVue Partner Ryan Nagim. “They know the sector well, and the result was a smoothly executed transaction, which is their hallmark.”

“This is our seventh transaction with LongueVue with whom we have built a terrific relationship over the years,” said Tim Clifford, the president and CEO of Abacus. “As in earlier transactions for them, our success was a function of our speed, cash-flow flexibility, and certainty of close – key aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach™.”

Abacus provides cash flow-based senior financing to private equity and family office-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $50 million. Since Abacus’s inception in June 2011, it has closed over $2 billion in financings. Abacus is headquartered in New York City and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust which was founded in 1850.

The Abacus transaction team included Eric Petersen, Joseph Lee, and Greg Scanlon. “LongueVue has consistently brought us attractive opportunities like Summit that align well with our investment strategy,” said Mr. Petersen.

LongueVue makes equity and debt investments of $10 million to $50 million in companies that have over $3 million of EBITDA and up to $150 million of annual revenue. The firm is typically the first institutional investor in its founder-owned target companies. Sectors of interest include healthcare, transportation and logistics, specialty manufacturing, industrial services, consumer, food and beverage, and specialty packaging.

In October 2022, LongueVue held an oversubscribed and hard cap final closing of LongueVue Capital Partners IV LP with $360 million of capital. The firm’s earlier fund closed in March 2017 at its hard cap of $252 million.

LongueVue was founded in 2001 and is based in New Orleans with an additional office in Park City, Utah.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | November 29, 2022

O2 Sponsor Finance, a division of Old Second National Bank, has provided senior secured credit facilities to back the buy of Dakotaland Autoglass by West Edge Partners.

Dakotaland Autoglass (DAG) is a distributor of aftermarket automotive replacement glass, and paint & body equipment to autobody shops and glass installation businesses. The company’s inventory includes over 50,000 auto glass parts. In addition to its distribution activities, DAG also provides a range of services including windshield replacement, back and side window replacement, and minor chip repair.

DAG operates 12 locations across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, with its main distribution center and headquarters (68,000 sq. ft.) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. DAG was founded by Daryl Anderson in 1978. McGowan Capital, a private equity firm also based in Sioux Falls, invested in DAG in 2012.

O2 Sponsor Finance provided just more than $13 million to back West Edge’s acquisition of DAG. “We are excited that West Edge selected O2 Sponsor Finance as senior lender to support their acquisition of Dakotaland Autoglass. We look forward to supporting DAG’s ongoing growth,” said Thom Karle, a senior vice president at O2 Sponsor Finance.

O2 Sponsor Finance is a national provider of cash flow-based loans to lower middle market businesses with $10 million to $100 million in revenue and $2 million to $10 million in EBITDA. Typical investment sizes range from $5 million to $25 million with syndication capabilities up to $60 million. The firm focuses on supporting private equity sponsors, independent sponsors and family offices in their acquisition or recapitalization of lower middle market companies.

O2 Sponsor Finance was formed by Old Second Bancorp in January 2022 and is led by President Joe Gaffigan, the former president and co-founder of TCF Capital Funding. Mr. Gaffigan led TCF Capital Funding from 2012 to 2021 until TCF Bank was acquired by Huntington National Bank in June 2021. He remained with Huntington as the president of its sponsor finance unit until spinning out to join Old Second to form O2 Sponsor Finance.

Old Second Bancorp has more than $6  billion in assets and is headquartered near Chicago in Aurora, Illinois. O2 Sponsor Finance is headquartered in Chicago. Mr. Gaffigan can be reached via email at [email protected] and Mr. Karle can be reached at [email protected].

In addition to the support from O2 Sponsor Finance, Omaha-based First Capital Partners provided subordinated debt financing and an equity co-investment.

West Edge Partners invests in companies that have more than $5 million in revenue and less than $15 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services, distribution, and light manufacturing businesses. West Edge is headquartered in Los Angeles with an additional office in Philadelphia.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | November 29, 2022