Horizon Technology Finance, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, formed a new joint venture with CR Financial, the holding company for Roth Capital Partners. The joint venture is designed to provide growth capital financing solutions to small- and micro-cap public companies based primarily in the United States.
Horizon and CR Financial will make initial capital commitments totaling $100 million. The joint venture intends to leverage its initial capital by entering into warehouse credit facilities from time to time. Governance and investment decisions will be made by a four-person board and a four-person investment committee, with Horizon and CR Financial equally represented on each.
The joint venture expects to be supported on larger investments by Monroe Capital, a private credit investment firm. The joint venture expands Horizon’s focus on providing capital in the form of secured loans to venture capital and private equity-backed companies and publicly traded companies.
“We are excited to partner with CRFH on this new joint venture, which we believe will provide publicly traded, small- and micro-cap companies a compelling option for growth financing,” said Mike Balkin, CEO of Horizon Technology Finance, said. “The joint venture will target a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity that we believe is currently underserved. We will primarily focus on providing growth capital financing solutions in the $5 – $25 million range, with the ability to upsize as necessary, with the continued support and backing of Monroe Capital. Importantly, the joint venture is fully aligned with Horizon’s long-term strategy to expand our capacity to support innovative, high growth companies, increase our scale and drive long-term value for our shareholders.”
Byron Roth, Chairman of CR Financial, said, “Our new joint venture with Horizon provides us an excellent opportunity to expand our capabilities and offer additional capital solutions to publicly traded companies. We have a long history in this market, and we are thrilled to be partnering with the highly respected Horizon team. We expect our new joint venture will be an active player in growth financing for publicly traded companies.”
