Emporia Loan Origination
Overview
Emporia Capital is a specialty lender designed primarily to serve the private equity sponsor community by providing debt financing for middle market buy-outs, acquisitions, leverage buildups, recapitalizations, and a variety of other growth opportunities.
Our investment professionals have a wealth of middle market experience and the reputation of staying true to their word throughout numerous credit cycles. Emporia’s team knows that the most important value we can provide to our client is CERTAINTY OF OUTCOME. We have built our business by nurturing and maintaining strong relationships with our customers and the same virtues remain the cornerstone of our strategy today.
Emporia’s flat organizational structure and entrepreneurial culture allow us to structure debt solutions tailored specifically to the many unique strategies and characteristics of our borrowers. We operate as a cohesive team and our decision making process is fast, flexible, and reliable.
To ensure certainty of transaction closing, we will underwrite credit exposure beyond our ultimate hold level and use our syndication expertise to provide a stable, diversified capital base. Emporia has a full range of operational capabilities to act as Administrative Agent for a syndicate of lenders.
Emporia Capital Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Cohen & Company, was organized in March 2005 and serves as the company’s middle market lending arm. We are a specialty asset management and lending firm that provides flexible debt solutions tailored primarily to sponsored middle market buy-outs and recapitalizations. With nearly $2 billion dedicated to the space, Emporia focuses on middle market businesses with at least $5 million of cash flow in a wide array of industries.
Investment Criteria
The firm invests in US-based middle market companies competing in a wide variety of industries. While we lead and participate in transactions with senior secured debt, we also provide our clients with second lien, single tranche, and mezzanine products. Our typical investment will exhibit the following characteristics:
- Sustainable cash flow of $5 million
- Granular and repeatable revenue base
- Experienced management team
- Strong competitive position
- Defendable entry barriers and market share
Recent Transactions
Origination Team
Our investment team is comprised of 18 professionals with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Kevin R. Braddish, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer
David Ligon, Managing Director
Gary Kirshner, Managing Director
Steven Alexander, Director
Michael J. Bedore, Director
Tom Denot, Vice President
Ian Wong, Vice President
Jennifer Velez, Associate
Kevin R. Braddish
Mr. Braddish is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Emporia Capital Management, LLC. He was previously Managing Director and Group Head for Commercial Lending at PB Capital, where he managed a $2 billion portfolio. Prior to that, Mr. Braddish was Managing Director of the Leveraged Finance Group at PB Capital, responsible for the unit’s origination, underwriting and syndication of middle market loans to private equity groups. Previously, he worked as a senior originator at GE Capital’s Commercial Finance Group for four years. Mr. Braddish began his career in the management trainee program at The Bank of New York, where he spent 13 years in various lending groups including middle market lending and leveraged finance. Mr. Braddish is a graduate of The College of William & Mary and received his M.B.A. in Finance from Adelphi University.
kbraddish@cohenandcompany.com
David Ligon
Mr. Ligon is a Managing Director for Emporia Capital Management and has 22 years of experience in middle market finance. Prior to joining Emporia, Mr. Ligon worked for nine years at Union Bank where he oversaw several credit product strategies including Middle Market Equity Sponsored Finance, which he was asked to start in 1998 based on his experience in the niche. Mr. Ligon has held leadership positions with increasing responsibility at every financial institution he has worked for and his experience includes business start ups, marketing, origination, documentation, underwriting, problem loan resolution, portfolio management, loan syndications, asset based lending, leasing, cash flow lending and non-credit product experience. Mr. Ligon comes from an entrepreneurial background and has worked in middle market family owned businesses growing up and acted as advisor to these enterprises during the past 22 years. Mr. Ligon graduated with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984 with an undergraduate degree in Finance. Mr. Ligon has completed various bank training and continuing education courses including recently completing the joint Stanford/Harvard executive course in leading change & organizational renewal.
dligon@cohenandcompany.com
Gary Kirshner
Mr. Kirshner is a Managing Director for Emporia Capital Management. Mr. Kirshner managed the Equity Sponsor Finance Group for Union Bank of California before joining Emporia. While at Union Bank, Mr. Kirshner oversaw over $500 million in leveraged middle market loan commitments for private equity sponsor transactions. Prior to Union Bank, Mr. Kirshner spent several years as a portfolio manager with ING Capital Advisors overseeing approximately $1 billion of leveraged loan investments (including distressed loans) on behalf of 13 different CLO vehicles. Prior to ING, Mr. Kirshner held various business development and underwriting middle market and leveraged lending position with Union Bank where, in 1998, he was instrumental in starting the bank’s leveraged finance unit focused on private equity sponsor transactions. Mr. Kirshner’s lending background includes business development, underwriting, syndication, restructuring, turn-around, and loan workout experience. Mr. Kirshner received his undergraduate degree in Finance from California State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
gkirshner@cohenandcompany.com
Steven Alexander
Mr. Alexander is a Director for Emporia Capital Management, LLC. Prior to joining Emporia, he was Vice President and Head of Underwriting of middle market loans at PB Capital. Mr. Alexander’s other functions during his seven year tenure at PB Capital included portfolio management and loan workouts. Prior to joining PB Capital, Mr. Alexander worked for three years in Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance Group, advising clients in M&A transactions and capital raising. He earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Yeshiva University and his M.B.A. from Columbia University.
salexander@cohenandcompany.com
Michael J. Bedore
Mr. Bedore is a Director for Emporia Capital Management, LLC. Prior to joining Emporia, he was Head of Asset Based Lending at PB Capital, as well as holding various portfolio management responsibilities at GMAC Commercial Finance, Fleet Capital and Bank of America Business Credit. In his various positions, he has been responsible for the origination and/or management of over $800MM in total credit exposures, primarily to middle market and large corporate leveraged clients. Mr. Bedore has a background centered in strong credit underwriting, with extensive experience in workout, corporate valuation, and stressed and distressed loan investing. Mr. Bedore holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from the State University of New York at Binghamton, as well as an M.S. in Accounting from Pace University.
mbedore@cohenandcompany.com
Tom Denot
Mr. Denot is a Vice President for Emporia Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Denot was previously an Investment Banking Officer within Union Bank of California’s Equity Sponsored Finance Group, where his responsibilities included structuring, underwriting, and managing middle market leveraged loans. Mr. Denot received his undergraduate degree in Political Economy from the University of California at Berkeley and completed Union Bank of California’s Management Training Program.
tdenot@cohenandcompany.com
Ian Wong
Mr. Wong is a Vice President of Emporia Capital Management, LLC and has seven years of middle market leverage finance experience. Prior to joining Emporia, he had worked in Union Bank of California’s Equity Sponsored Finance Group. Mr. Wong’s functions during his tenure at Union Bank included deal origination, underwriting, syndication, portfolio management, and loan restructuring. Mr. Wong earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego and completed Union Bank of California’s Management Training Program.
iwong@cohenandcompany.com
Jennifer Velez
Ms. Velez is an Associate of Emporia Capital Management, LLC. Previously, Ms. Velez was with the Equity Sponsored Finance group at Union Bank of California where she performed account management, underwriting and financial analysis, and credit monitoring activities. Prior to that, Ms. Velez spent four years at ING Capital Advisors, LLC, where she provided data analysis and customized reports to senior management, calculated investment advisor’s performance in line with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS), and performed CLO accounting and compliance testing. Ms. Velez holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and is currently completing her M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
jvelez@cohenandcompany.com
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