Legacy Corporate Lending, a new asset-based lending company, launched today as an independent lender focused on serving the needs of middle-market companies across North America. Funds managed by a subsidiary of Bain Capital Credit supported the launch with an equity investment.
Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, Legacy Corporate Lending will provide revolving credit facilities and term loans ranging in size from $10 million to $40 million to companies seeking access to capital outside of traditional bank lending or the syndicated lending market. Legacy intends to make loans that are secured by assets including accounts receivable, inventory, machinery and equipment, real estate, and intellectual property.
Clark Griffith, a 25-year commercial finance industry veteran, will lead Legacy as CEO. Griffith spent the bulk of his career at GE Capital, most recently as an officer of GE Japan and senior managing director and head of GE Capital’s structured finance business.
In addition to Griffith, Legacy’s founding leadership team will include Paul Martin as chief investment officer and Lawrence Ridgway as chief operating officer. Martin has more than 30 years of commercial lending experience and cofounded several ABL companies. Ridgway has more than 25 years of ABL experience and joined Legacy from Citizens Commercial Banking, where he served as a senior vice president and covered ABL clients.
“We are excited to establish this well-capitalized platform in partnership with Bain Capital Credit at a time when lending provides an essential solution to many companies,” Griffith said. “We see a significant opportunity to leverage our combined credit investment and industry expertise to provide borrowers with flexible, solutions-oriented capital. We look forward to leveraging our experience and relationships to build a diversified lending platform focused on serving the unique needs of our borrowers.”
“We are fortunate to be partnering with such a talented and experienced leadership team who shares our conviction about the need for quality ABL offerings to serve this market and the growth opportunities that lie ahead,” Thomas Kolinski, a partner at Bain Capital Credit, said. “As seasoned industry veterans, Legacy’s executive team is uniquely positioned to address the complex needs of middle-market borrowers and to do so with the speed, certainty and execution that today’s fast paced market demands.”
