"Our Deal Pipeline is Rocking": Fifth Street Secures New Facility
Fifth Street Finance Corp., one of the few business development companies that's making new loans these days, has secured a new credit facility to deploy on sponsored transactions. It's notable, since middle market deal volume has yet to bounce back the same way the mega-market deals have in recent weeks. For several years Fifth Street, which went public in 2008, has been steadily creeping up from the small market to a position that is solidly lower middle market. The new facility, underwritten by Wachovia, is a $50 million live of credit with an accordion feature that allows expansion to $100 million. The new facility follows the termination of the company's $50 million line of credit with Bank of Montreal, which expired December 29, 2009. The Wachovia facility has a three year lifespan. I spoke briefly with Fifth Street's CEO Len Tannebaum about the deal and the state of middle market lending.
