Industry News
Clearbanc Launches Valuation Service for Founders
July 16, 2020
Today Clearbanc, the Toronto-based alternative finance company, has launched its latest service, Valuation, allowing founders to gauge their company’s value. Being an extension to Clearbanc’s platform, the service will be free to everyone and promises an estimation within 24 hours that can be checked weekly.
Valuation also offers three options to founders upon receiving their company’s value: the chance to access capital via Clearbanc’s funding channels, connect with investors in order to raise an equity round, and investigate possible acquisition opportunities. For the last two of these options, Clearbanc makes introductions to a selection of venture capital investors that have connected with the program.
As per the requirements, founders will have to connect a selection of private data points. Their business accounts, payment processor, accounting platform, and their admin account will all be required. As well as this, public data is also used to arrive at a valuation, basing the estimations on information specific to the company as well as the industry it is in.
“We think this could be as revolutionary as what Credit Karma did when they launched free credit scores for everyone and gave consumers access to their own information,” explained Clearbanc CEO Michele Romanow. “We’re really excited about this as it represents our first non-capital launch, and we think that it’s part of a much bigger vision of how we help founders win in this environment.”
Maxim Commercial Capital Funds Deals in 30 States During 2Q 2020
July 16, 2020Maxim Commercial Capital is pleased to report it funded hard asset-secured financings for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in 30 states across the United States during the second quarter of 2020. After pivoting quickly in March to safer-at-home working conditions for its 30+ team members, Maxim experienced a steady increase in applications from equipment brokers and vendors for their borrowers with challenged credit. Maxim lends $10,000 to $3,000,000 to SMBs nationwide secured by heavy equipment and real estate to facilitate asset purchases, working capital and to refinance expensive short term debt.
“Maxim was founded during the Great Recession of 2008,” noted Behzad Kianmahd, Chairman and CEO. “We are applying our experiences gained during that time to overcome today’s extraordinary economic challenges and long term uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reaffirmed our commitment to finance SMBs, which are the backbone of our economy, refreshed our underwriting standards, and are continually improving our infrastructure by investing in technology and communication tools for the benefit of our customers, vendors, brokers and team members.”
During the second quarter, Maxim received numerous applications from business owners with strong credit but negative cash flow due to the economic downturn. Funded transactions for such borrowers included $95,000 secured by a 2019 Mack GR64F Tri-Axle Dump Truck for a growing landscaping company in New Jersey; $42,500 for a seasoned contractor’s purchase of a 2014 Caterpillar 312E Hydraulic Excavator; and, $29,000 to enable a business started up by seasoned contractors to purchase a 2020 Reinert ZR Concrete Pump.
Buyers of used class 8 trucks faced numerous challenges during the second quarter, ranging from lenders shutting down without warning to closed DMVs. Maxim successfully funded deals across the country, including $26,500 for a California-based long-haul truck owner-operator to purchase a 2017 Volvo 780; $20,800 for an Ohio-based transportation company to purchase a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia; and, $23,000 for a Texas-based owner-operator to purchase a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia to replace a truck with mechanical issues.
“We are humbled and encouraged by our team’s commitment to positively impact our customers’ future success, and by our customers’ continuous effort to make tough but rational decisions to stay in business during these difficult times,” commented Michael Kianmahd, Executive Vice President. “Based on our experience over the past few months, we are confident that SMBs across the nation will contribute substantially to the nation’s recovery from the biggest economic shock since The Great Depression.”
About Maxim Commercial Capital
Maxim Commercial Capital helps small and mid-sized business owners seize opportunity by providing financing in amounts up to $3,000,000 secured by heavy equipment and real estate. Maxim facilitates equipment purchases, provides working capital and refinances debt for companies across all industries located nationwide. Through Maxim’s tailored financing programs, businesses unlock capital tied up in underleveraged assets, often replacing expensive short-term debt and daily repayment working capital loans with longer term capital. As a leading provider of transportation equipment finance, Maxim funds up to 75% of the acquisition cost of class 8 and class 6 trucks, trailers and reefers for owner-operators and small businesses. Learn more at www.maximcc.com or by calling 877.776.2946.
Layoffs At Ondeck
July 10, 2020
OnDeck issued a round of layoffs this week, new former employees report.
One said that the company had “made changes needed to navigate these unprecedented times.” The layoffs were announced on Wednesday and appear to span both the company’s New York and Denver offices.
Ironically, when deBanked sent an email to OnDeck’s head of corporate communications to obtain a comment on the news, the message was returned with an auto response that said that he too was no longer with the company.
Breakout Capital Weathered The Storm And Came Out With Expanded Access to Credit
July 8, 2020
Breakout Capital never stopped funding. That’s what CEO & President McLean Wilson recently shared with deBanked. The company not only weathered the storm but has come out with expanded access to credit totalling $20MM with Medalist Partners, one a current term loan facility and the other a new term loan facility with “attractive” forward flow features.
The company said in its announcement that these facilities will allow Breakout to increase loan originations across all of its product offerings, including its term-loan product, FactorAdvantage®, and its newest factor product, FactorBridge.
“Small businesses are at the core of our economy and they were, as we were, largely blindsided by recent economic interruptions,” Wilson told deBanked. “We adapted quickly and rolled with the punches and never stopped funding. It is a testament to the resiliency, loyalty and borrower first mentality that Breakout Capital has not only weathered the storm, but has strengthened our company throughout the past few months. We quickly adapted to a new way of thinking, which helped us serve our clients in real time and forge ever closer relationships with our factor partners, lenders, online marketplaces, ISOs and borrowers.”
John Slonieski, Director of Private Credit for Medalist Partners, said in the announcement that “We are pleased to enhance our relationship with Breakout Capital in our asset-based lending strategy. Their high-quality underwriting and SMB-friendly lending solutions, coupled with their talented credit and management team, provide us confidence as we continue working closely with them to successfully scale their lending program.”
Breakout Capital Closes $20MM in Credit Facilities with Medalist Partners
July 8, 2020MCLEAN, VA / July 8, 2020 / Leading nationwide small business lender Breakout Capital announced today the completion of two senior secured credit facilities, totaling $20MM, with Medalist Partners, expanding and extending a current term loan facility and establishing a new term loan facility with attractive forward flow features with its long-time lending partner. This expansion of its successful ongoing partnership with Medalist further validates Breakout Capital’s vision and growth through product differentiation, innovative responses to small business needs and disciplined, long-term strategy. These facilities will allow Breakout to increase loan originations across all of its product offerings, including its highly regarded term-loan product, FactorAdvantage®, and its newest, well-received factor product, FactorBridge.
“I am pleased to continue our successful relationship with Medalist Partners. Medalist is a disciplined and engaged credit facility provider who shares our vision and believes in the strong value we bring to small businesses across the country,” said McLean Wilson, Breakout Capital’s CEO and Chief Credit Officer. “The expansion of this strategic relationship will accelerate the growth of our “white-hat” brand and the continued introduction of innovative new lending solutions to the market.”
John Slonieski, Director of Private Credit for Medalist Partners, added, “We are pleased to enhance our relationship with Breakout Capital in our asset-based lending strategy. Their high-quality underwriting and SMB-friendly lending solutions, coupled with their talented credit and management team, provide us confidence as we continue working closely with them to successfully scale their lending program.”
Given the deployment of these Medalist facilities and increased market demand from the rollout of FactorBridge and expansion of FactorAdvantage®, Breakout Capital has in parallel raised its loan size up to $1,000,000. It has done so while continuing to offer loan terms of up to 24 months, offering flexibility through FactorBridge to provide shorter-term solutions that bridge to these longer-term Breakout Capital loans.
“The increase in our maximum term loans provides much-needed additional liquidity to small businesses, enabling them to implement critical strategies and capitalize on time-sensitive opportunities during these unprecedented times,” Wilson stated. “It also facilitates powerful dual factoring-loan solutions where we provide critical working capital loans to SMBs in tandem with accounts-receivable based factoring platforms offered by our valued factor partners.”
About Breakout Capital
Breakout Capital, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a leading fintech company, offering innovative small business lending solutions across the country. Breakout Capital is committed to transparent and responsible lending solutions through product innovation, small business borrowing education, and advocacy against predatory lending practices and continues to empower small business through right-sized lending, suitability testing, improving terms and supporting the long-term financing objectives of small businesses.
About Medalist Partners
Medalist Partners is an SEC registered investment manager with approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020. The New York based firm manages strategies in asset-based private credit, structured credit, and collateralized loan obligations. The business is led by partners Greg Richter, Brian Herr and Michael Ardisson, who were formerly part of Candlewood Investment Group and prior to that Credit Suisse.
PayPal Appoints New Chief Accounting Officer
June 17, 2020PayPal promoted Jeffrey Karbowski from Global Controller to Chief Accounting Officer. Karbowski is also the company’s vice-president. His new position takes effect on July 31, 2020.
Karbowski has been with the company since 2013.
The Commercial Finance Coalition Applauds Actions by the Federal Trade Commission and New York State to Thwart Bad Actors in Business Lending
June 11, 2020
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James have filed formal actions against two small business financing companies for allegedly using egregious and deceptive tactics to seize assets from small businesses, non-profits, religious organizations, and medical offices.
“The Commercial Finance Coalition whole-heartedly applauds the efforts of the FTC and Attorney General James. As a coalition of responsible financial services companies committed to funding small businesses, the CFC believes there should be zero tolerance for bad actors and deceptive practices in our industry,” said Executive Director Dan Gans.
Gans added, “Hopefully this will serve as a warning to all companies in the business finance space to serve merchants through best practices centered on respect and integrity in compliance with state and federal law.”
The CFC is a not-for-profit alliance of innovative financial technology companies that are working together to deploy capital to help small and mid sized businesses grow.
Press Release
Contact
Dan Gans
626-755-6545
Release Date
June 11, 2020
CFG Merchant Solutions Enhances Partnership with Arena Investors and its Affiliates to Serve SMEs
May 29, 2020NEW YORK, New York., May 29, 2020 — CFG Merchant Solutions (“CFGMS”), a leading financier of small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”), announced today that the company is building upon its partnership with Arena Investors, LP (“Arena”), in conjunction with Ceteris Portfolio Services (“Ceteris), an Arena servicing affiliate, in servicing and providing liquidity to Platinum Rapid Funding’s (“PRF”) merchant portfolio. CFGMS has been a leading capital provider to SMEs and an originator of advances to growing merchants, providing in excess of $400 million merchant cash advances since 2015. Arena has been CFGMS’s primary capital partner since 2016.
CFGMS and Arena are determined to prioritize the needs of PRF’s existing customers in the wake of the COVID-19 crises and its resulting impact on small businesses across the country.
“Arena is pleased to continue its partnership with CFGMS and its senior management team consisting of CEO, Andrew Coon, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, Robert Martini, and President, William Gallagher. Together, we remain deeply committed to serving the needs of PRF’s existing customers, particularly for ongoing financing and liquidity needs in an environment when even much larger businesses struggle to attract capital,” said Victor Dupont, who leads Arena’s investments in the financing of the SME sector. “We welcome further involvement with PRF’s customers and their affiliated ISOs and are committed to working collaboratively with all throughout the COVID-19 crises and beyond”.
“Arena and its affiliates have built a reputation as a group that combines uniquely flexible capital with broad-based expertise in servicing, resolutions, and SME finance,” said Coon. “So, while we excel at sourcing, originations, and underwriting, we felt that they brought a critical level of IP and know-how that is uniquely suited to benefit all parties in today’s environment. Combining forces to offer a broader set of servicing solutions to the MCA market segment made complete sense.”
Jonathan Pike, CEO of Ceteris, added: “Ceteris is excited to work with CFGMS and Arena by offering best-in-class servicing strategies and assisting merchants in a difficult economic environment.”
The Small Business Association (“SBA”) estimates that traditional banks still reject approximately 90 percent of SME loan applications. Since 2015, CFGMS has emerged as a proven platform that leverages sales partner relationships, analytics, and proprietary underwriting to provide SMEs with a straightforward and streamlined access to critical funding. The company addresses the fundamental capital needs of SME owners across a broad credit spectrum and through every stage of a business’s life cycle.
SMEs across a wide variety of industries that include restaurants, retail stores, salons, spas, dry cleaners, auto body shops, and professional offices. All of these businesses, and more, rely on CFGMS to secure the necessary capital they need to grow.
For questions or funding solutions, please contact:
– William Gallagher
– (646) 880-3817
– WGallagher@CFGMS.com
– Ryan Banda
– (856) 545-8322
– rbanda@ceterisassetsolutions.com
About CFGMS
Headquartered in New York, NY, CFGMS specializes in providing financing to support the growth and development of underserved small-to-medium sized businesses that lack access to traditional bank funding. Founded in 2010, CFGMS’s affiliated company, CapFlow Funding Group, provides factoring, purchase order finance, and asset-based lending solutions. CFGMS and CapFlow have together provided over $1 billion in liquidity solutions to their SME clients. For more information please visit www.cfgmerchantsolutions.com
About Arena Investors, LP
Arena Investors is a privately held, SEC-registered, global alternative investment firm which combines mandate flexibility, proprietary sourcing and systems-plus-servicing to enable solutions for those seeking capital. The firm was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in NewYork with additional offices in Jacksonville, London, and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.arenaco.com.
About Ceteris Portfolio Services
Ceteris is a nationally licensed servicing company providing debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers and commercial businesses across a broad range of financial assets. Ceteris provides first- and third-party revenue cycle management, business process outsourcing and portfolio backup servicing to heavily regulated, high volume industries including banking, automotive finance, credit card, equipment leasing, medical, telecommunications, utilities, retail and other industries. For more information please visit www.ceterisholdco.com.
