Investing and Lending

Financing solutions to middle market companies

Our focus on underwriting the underlying intrinsic value of a business enables us to creatively invest in a broad spectrum of credit risk. These one-stop financing solutions incorporate first lien, second lien and mezzanine risk in a simple capital structure that eliminates inter creditor issues and syndication risk, enabling fast and reliable closing. We also have the flexibility to invest in individual tranches of debt.

A number of key philosophies form the foundation of our unique approach to specialty lending.

• Our people determine our success. Our highly skilled team of investing professionals allows us to develop unique perspectives and craft creative solutions that demonstrate substantive differences for our borrowers.
• We invest capital with a long-term focus. This investing culture allows us to focus our time and effort on understanding our borrowers’ long-term fundamentals.
• We are committed to the middle market. Our focus is on middle market companies, delivering flexible, reliable capital while leveraging the firm-wide resources of PSS.
• We value relationships and building trust. We create strong, lasting relationships with owners and managers and build the trust of our borrowers by honoring commitments, responding to needs and communicating directly.

Advantages

We provide middle-market borrowers and owners with simple, streamlined financing solutions that deliver certainty. Our offering presents prospective and existing customers with clear advantages.

• Responsiveness and Creativity. We deliver clear, quick and thoughtful responses; we resolve issues quickly and make intelligent decisions. Our diverse and experienced team of professionals develops creative solutions based on our internal assessment of risk and returns and avoids relying on traditional credit parameters or market conventions.
• Fully Underwritten Transactions. We deliver certainty. We seek to fully underwrite our transactions to eliminate syndication risk for our borrowers. We do not rely on broad syndications and can make commitments without market flex language.
• Leadership Role in Credits. We intend to hold significant, meaningfully influential positions within our credits, allowing us to play a leadership role to resolve issues when they arise.
• One Stop, Single Lien Structures. We have the ability to structure single lien financings that encompass a blended risk profile and cost of capital to eliminate inter creditor issues and facilitate fast and reliable closing.
• Risk-Adjusted Return Investing. We assess and price risk without relying on market conventions to invest across the entire capital structure, including standalone first lien, second lien and junior capital investments. We can consider structures involving incremental leverage or more flexible terms, compared with the prevailing market.
• Capital Access to Capital-Constrained Companies. We excel at providing financing solutions to companies with limited access to capital, including non-rated, smaller and middle-market companies, businesses with complex business models and entities with a high level of intrinsic value relative to hard assets or cash flow.

Investment to growth and middle market companies

Approach

PSS seeks to invest in growing businesses  working closely with strong and driven management teams. Our focus on underwriting the intrinsic value of a business enables us to creatively invest in a broad spectrum of securities across the capital structure. We have significant flexibility in the kinds of investments we make. For example, we can act as a lead or minority investor and we can provide both equity and debt financing.

• We create custom solutions for each private investment. Our highly skilled team of investing professionals allows us to develop unique perspectives and craft creative solutions that provide the optimal investment structures for our portfolio companies.
• Investing with PSS. Our long history of financing allows us to focus our underwriting on the underlying financial assets and understanding our customer’s needs.
• We invest capital with a long-term focus. This investing culture allows us to focus our time and effort on understanding our companies’ long-term growth plans.
• We are committed to the middle market. Our focus is on middle market companies, delivering flexible, reliable capital while leveraging the firm-wide resources of PSS.
• We back talented management teams. We search for management teams with strong visions and expertise that are looking to continue to grow their companies.
• We value relationships and building trust. We create strong, lasting relationships with owners and managers and build the trust of our portfolio companies by honoring commitments, responding to needs and communicating directly.

Advantages

We provide middle-market companies with flexible and tailored capital solutions. We use our expertise and network to add value to management as they pursue their vision. Our capabilities present prospective and existing customers with clear advantages.

• Flexibility and Creativity. Our experienced investment teams have the ability to think outside traditional private equity parameters as we have no external investor constituency. We can structure creative securities as a lead, minority, or co-investor, and can provide both debt and equity financing. Our investment span ranges from mezzanine debt to convertible preferred.
• Custom-Tailored Solutions. Each company we work with is unique and requires a carefully constructed investment solution. We give each of the companies we invest in the opportunity to help create the structure that works best for them.
• Value Enhancement. We work closely with management and other stakeholders. Our Portfolio Operations Team assists management in identifying and executing value enhancement initiatives. We limit involvement to initiatives expected to cause measurable improvements in value creation and measure success through value enhancement, not fees or use of captive services.
• PSS’s Resources. We provide management teams with access to PSS franchise, relationships, and strategic network to accelerate value creation. We make introductions to vendors and customers, add-on acquisition targets, and opportunities for exits. We help our companies create competitive advantage by having PSS as an investor.
• Deep Industry Knowledge. We work closely with experts across PSS to gain deep insight and expertise across industry sectors. Our team’s strong experience investing in the industries in which we focus serves as an advantage to management teams. We can provide access to third-party resources and industry experts to provide insights into industry trends and competitive dynamics.
• Speed and Certainty. Working with a single capital provider allows for the ability to move quickly to complete transactions.

Asset-based loan financing to financial services companies

Approach

As an experienced financier, PSS seeks to hold sizable positions and play a leadership role in our investments. Our focus on underwriting the underlying value of the financial assets allows us to provide creative solutions for issuers. These fully underwritten financings could be used to finance ongoing originations, finance an existing pool of financial assets originated by an issuer or to finance the acquisition of a pool of financial assets by a buyer.

• Experienced Team of Investors. We have a highly skilled team of investing professionals with expertise across various asset classes and multiple credit cycles, which allows us to develop creative financing solutions unique to other potential financing partners.
• Investing with PSS. Our long history of financing allows us to focus our underwriting on the underlying financial assets and understanding our customer’s needs.
• Committed Financial Services and Specialty Finance Focus. Our deep understanding and knowledge of underlying financial assets allows us to continue to provide financing opportunities.
• Client Relationship. We create a strong, lasting relationship with issuers as we understand the fundamentals of their businesses which not only allows us to grow with them, but also allows us to quickly identify potential problems and manage them effectively.

Advantages

We provide financial services and specialty finance companies with a complete financing solution for their financial assets. Our capabilities present prospective and existing customers with clear advantages.

• Responsiveness and Creativity. We deliver clear, quick and thoughtful responses. We are a full service provider with a substantial investment in back office capabilities, and sophisticated and experienced investment and asset management teams with the ability to think outside traditional credit parameters.
• Fully Underwritten Transactions. We seek to fully underwrite our transactions to eliminate syndication risk for our customers.
• Relationship with PSS. Our customers not only have access to loans, but access to all the customer offerings that PSS provides to the marketplace. We intend to hold a significant, meaningful investment, which allows us to assume a leadership role should issues arise.
• Risk-Adjusted Return Investing. We assess price risk based on our extensive knowledge of the underlying financial assets. We have a unique perspective on asset performance that allows us to maximize value for issuers.

From the conventional renewable energy sector to storage solutions

Approach

Our energy expertise spans from the solar, wind and energy storage sectors to unconventional oil and gas. We also offer a wide range of products, including private growth equity debt, term loans and tax equity. We are dedicated to offering the optimal financing solution for every situation.

• Our expert investment team. The Alternative Energy Investing Group has highly-skilled and experienced professionals with broad industry knowledge as well as product expertise, allowing us to craft creative solutions tailored to the needs of portfolio companies.
• Broad sector focus. Our team has broad experience ranging from renewable energy sources (e.g. solar, wind, biomass, bio-gas, geothermal, biofuels), and other energy-related industries (e.g. batteries, energy efficiency, LEDs, fuel logistics & terminals) to traditional fossil fuels (e.g. oil, gas) and their related products (e.g. natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas). Within each industry, our focus spans from developing and owning energy producing assets, owning and operating midstream assets and trading in regional renewable energy/green credits. These are only some examples of energy-related sub sectors covered by our team.
• Expertise in all products. Whether it is growth equity, tax equity, loans, bonds, mezzanine, project finance, derivatives, leases, private or public capital, the Alternative Energy Investing Group, with its diverse arsenal of financial products, is able to deliver the optimal structure for every financing opportunity.
• Valued relationship with sponsors, owners and management teams. We form strong, lasting relationships with owners, managers, and portfolio companies. We take time to understand the fundamentals of businesses we work with to find the best solution to address their needs. We build trust through the quality of our execution as we work together with management teams each step of the way.

Advantages

We provide creative, complete solutions crafted to the business needs of our portfolio companies. Our capabilities present prospective and existing customers with clear advantages.

• Responsiveness and Creativity. With our diverse arsenal of financial products, we craft the optimal financing solution to deliver the greatest value to all parties. Our dedicated team of investment professionals can utilize a combination of growth equity, loans, bonds, project finance, tax equity, derivatives, leases, private or public capital, to deliver thoughtful and creative solutions.
• Risk-Adjusted Return Investing. We assess and price risk without relying on market conventions, and are able to price risks in niche markets that are not well-understood. Our experience and ability to analyze unconventional risks enable us to offer tailored financing solutions which other banks and financial institutions are unable to provide.
• One Stop, Complete Solution. We take positions across the entire capital structure and aim to provide a complete set of solutions for our portfolio companies. We are flexible, tax- efficient, and creative in our financing structures, combining a variety of products best suited to address all the needs of the business.
• Capital Access to Capital-Constrained Companies. We excel at providing financing solutions to companies with limited access to capital, including private, non-rated, growing, or demonstration-phase companies with high levels of intrinsic value relative to hard assets or cash flow.

Debt and equity capital to commercial real estate developers

Approach

As an experienced investor in the commercial real estate sector, PSS seeks to hold sizable positions and play a leadership role in its investments.

• Experienced Team of Investors. We have a highly skilled team of investing professionals with expertise across various asset classes and experience through multiple credit cycles.
• Investing with PSS. Our long history of investing allows us to focus our underwriting on the underlying property and respond to transaction needs.
• Client Relationship. We have built strong, lasting relationships with investors, operating partners and other participants in the real estate sector.  This allows us to grow with them and also quickly assess new situations requiring debt or equity solutions

Advantages

Our capabilities present prospective and existing customers/borrowers with clear advantages.

• Responsiveness and Creativity. We deliver clear, quick and thoughtful responses. We are a full service provider offering experienced investment and asset management teams with the ability to think outside traditional credit parameters to structure customized solutions when needed.
• Fully Underwritten Transactions. We seek to fully underwrite our transactions and also partner with co-investors, as appropriate.
• Relationship with PSS. Our customers not only have access to loans, but access to all the customer offerings that PSS provides to the marketplace. We intend to hold a significant, meaningful investment, which allows us to assume a leadership role from a strategic and risk mitigation perspective.
• Risk-Adjusted Return Investing. We assess and price risk based on our extensive knowledge of the underlying financial assets.