Greenbacker Group LLC Announces New Equity Investment and Addition of Co-Chairmen to Executive Team
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greenbacker Group LLC (“Company”), a closely held company with offices
in New York, NY and Portland, ME, announced that on September 18, 2017
it closed a financial transaction designed to improve its balance sheet,
add new financial resources and increase its management capabilities.
The Company, a fund management business that invests in renewable energy
and energy efficiency infrastructure, took in a minority investment of
$4 million, as well as a new $1.5 million secured loan, from a group of
investors led by Kedrick Cerry (KCI), a Florida-based family-office with
a strong record of investing in infrastructure assets such as railroads,
renewable energy and telecommunications. The Company used the capital to
retire existing debt, reduce its interest expense and provide working
capital that will help the company execute on its growth strategy into
the future. “We are pleased to add Greenbacker to our growing portfolio
of infrastructure investments,” noted Michael Durden, CEO of KCI. He
went on to say “We are always excited to back experienced management
teams as their businesses enter a growth phase.”
Along with this transaction, Greenbacker announced the appointment of
Messrs. Ron Iervolino and Robert Brennan as Co-Chairmen of Greenbacker,
both of whom are investing alongside KCI. Mr. Iervolino joins
Greenbacker with 35 years of industry experience, most recently as head
of Guggenheim Debt Capital Markets where he managed Fixed Income, Real
Estate and Structured Credit businesses as well as serving on executive
committees for Guggenheim Partners. He is currently a partner at
Franklin Park, which manages a $1 billion infrastructure fund. Mr.
Brennan, a 34-year Wall Street veteran, ran the commercial real estate
finance businesses at Guggenheim Partners, Credit Suisse and Donaldson
Lufkin and Jenrette. Under his leadership, these businesses originated,
managed and securitized over a $100 billion of CRE related products
across the globe. Additionally, in 2010 Mr. Brennan was a founding
investor in Pillar Financial, a specialty finance, servicing and asset
management platform focused on housing and health care related
properties. He and the team grew the business from one office with 5
employees to 218 employees located in 20 offices across the U.S. Pillar
was successfully sold to SunTrust Bank in 2016. Mr. Brennan is currently
the Chair of the Investment Committee for the University of Vermont
Endowment. “We are extremely pleased to add these thought leaders to our
senior executive team,” said Charles Wheeler, the Co-CEO of Greenbacker.
“We believe that their extensive experience in the Capital Markets and
in particular with Securitizations will help us source new investment
opportunities, optimize our debt structures and position our investments
to deliver compelling exits for our existing investors.”
Greenbacker Capital Management LLC (”GCM”), a majority owned subsidiary
of the Company, is the investment advisor to Greenbacker Renewable
Energy Company LLC, a publicly registered, non-traded limited liability
company that manages a diversified portfolio of income-producing
renewable energy power plants, energy efficiency projects and other
sustainable investments. Since commencing operations in 2014, GCM now
manages in excess of $200 million in solar and wind power generation
assets, equal to approximately 150 megawatts of generation capacity,
throughout the United States and Canada.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the
forward-looking statements are made. Although the Company believes the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon
reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations
will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement
contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in the
Company‘s expectations.
Contacts
Greenbacker Group LLC
David Sher, 917-309-1234