Latest news with #MAFinancial
The Australian
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Australian
MA Financial makes retail splash with IPGeneration funds buy
The listed MA Financial Group has inked a deal to buy the growing IPGeneration property funds operation and will look to grow it as the retail property sector is in a sweet spot. The listed company, which counts Andrew Pridham as vice chairman, is buying the Melbourne real estate investment management for $90.4m, to be paid mainly in shares. The business, which controls a $2bn shopping centre empire, will be integrated into the existing MA Financial real estate platform, which spans pubs, shopping centres and marinas. The move will grow the listed firm's real estate empire to about $8bn and overall assets to more than $12bn. Set up in 2018, IPGeneration manages about $2bn of retail shopping centre assets across ten funds that own 14 shopping centres located in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA. MA Financial joint chief executive Julian Biggins said IP Generation had an impressive record in securing assets, raising capital and delivering strong returns. The group was at the vanguard of a group of nimble funds houses, including Haben and Fawkner, that snapped up assets that were unloaded by larger institutions as they came under pressure to sell. It picked up centres including Stockland Glendale in NSW, Craigieburn Central in Melbourne and a 50 per cent interest in Rockingham Centre in WA. IPGeneration has also proven up its strategy by profitably selling off one early asset, in Victoria's Corio, after boosting its performance. The deal is expected to give MA Financial's own business a boost as it will have more scale and expertise on board and larger companies and funds remain under pressure to sell assets. There will be 29 real estate investment professionals joining MA Financial's real estate asset team and the overall business will run about $8bn in core, alternative and real estate credit assets. IPGeneration founder and chief executive Chris Lock will become head of core real estate at MA Financial. The firm's chairman David Blight, a former ING Real Estate global, and director Greg Miles, an ex-Scentre senior executive, will also join MA Financial. The $90.4m purchase price represents a multiple of 7.9 time earnings and includes an $80m upfront component, with deal billed as accretive to MA Financial's underlying earnings per share this financial year. Mr Biggins said the acquisition builds scale in the firm's core real estate business at an attractive once in a cycle opportunity in the real estate market. 'This acquisition will mutually benefit our many investor clients, which aligns with our philosophy of achieving win-win outcomes for clients, shareholders, and staff,' he said. Mr Lock said the two companies had a strong cultural fit and alignment. He said the scale of the combined business 'enables us to deliver even better opportunities and investment returns to all our clients in the future'. Ben Wilmot Commercial Property Editor Ben Wilmot has been The Australian's commercial property editor since 2013. He was previously a property journalist with the Australian Financial Review.
Japan Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
SMBC teams with private lenders to offer $1.7 billion of credit
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is joining forces with asset managers at Monroe Capital and MA Financial Group to work together on $1.7 billion of lending deals in the fast-growing private credit market. The tie-up between the Japanese banking conglomerate and its new partners will target U.S. middle-market companies, according to executives. They'll be offering first-lien senior-secured loans starting this month, with the potential to increase the total based on demand. "All three of us are very focused on making this a scalable, long-term partnership,' with "a shared credit and investing mindset,' Thomas Bergen, head of private credit at SMBC Americas, said in an interview. Alliances among banks and private credit managers — long seen as rivals in providing financing — are reshaping Wall Street and capital markets as the two industries increasingly converge. Banks are looking to maintain their streams of fees without risking as much of their own capital and running afoul of regulatory limits. Private credit firms, which handle about $1.6 trillion in assets according to Preqin, are under pressure to find new sources of business by tapping into banks' base of customers. All three firms expect to provide the venture's investable capital, with MA Financial's contribution coming from its managed funds. The recent rush into private credit by banks and asset managers has spurred concern that credit quality might be suffering, and that trade wars and a shrinking economy might make borrowers vulnerable. The new partners say they've taken precautions. "Having a fresh capital base, unburdened by any legacy issues, is ideal going into this type of an environment,' SMBC's Bergen said. "We're able to digest and process some of the risks that are out there before making a lending decision.' The group envisions teaming SMBC's private credit and sponsor financing with Monroe's direct lending capabilities and MA Financial's specialties in credit and co-lending. "Our expectation is this will be successful because we see the market opportunity' for lending to U.S. middle-market companies, those that generate $10 million to $50 million of Ebitda, said Zia Uddin, Monroe's president. His Chicago-based firm specializes in private credit strategies including direct lending, venture debt, structured credit and alternative credit solutions. Australia-based MA Financial manages more than $6.7 billion in assets and oversees about $91 billion in managed loans. The firm has a U.S.-based team focused on specialty credit and lending partnerships. "In times like this, you want to be in defensive credit, such as first-lien senior secured positions to established businesses,' said Frank Danieli, head of MA Financial's global credit solutions. "These are real-world companies that actually need financing.'
National Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial Launch US$1.7 Billion Middle Market Lending Joint Venture
Article content Article content Article content NEW YORK & CHICAGO & SYDNEY — Monroe Capital, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and MA Asset Management (part of MA Financial Group, ASX: MAF) today announced the formation of a new joint venture ('JV'), which will invest up to US$1.7 billion in senior secured loans to U.S. middle market borrowers. The JV harnesses the complementary capabilities of the three partnering institutions to establish a differentiated platform focused on the attractive middle market subset of private credit. Article content The JV expects to benefit from broad access to high-quality, proprietary deal flow of first-lien senior-secured loans to established middle market companies, leveraging the loan origination capabilities of Monroe Capital's direct lending infrastructure, SMBC's established private credit and sponsor finance platform and MA Financial's expertise in specialty credit and co-lending. Article content The JV's investable capital will be provided by Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial (via its managed funds). Monroe Capital is one of the largest lower middle market direct lenders in the United States, SMBC is a leading global bank with a global middle market sponsor business, and MA Financial is an Australian-headquartered alternative asset manager with an active presence in specialty credit in the United States, for which co-lending is a core strategy. Article content This joint venture reflects a broader evolution in the private credit landscape, where asset managers and banks are collaborating to provide scalable, differentiated capital solutions to borrowers. With a strong alignment of interests, shared credit philosophies and deep origination channels, the strategic partnership between Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial is well positioned to meet the growing demand for financing in a structurally underserved segment of the market. Article content 'We are excited to partner with MA Financial and SMBC to leverage Monroe's robust and comprehensive origination platform for middle market transactions in the United States. We continue to innovate new structures to be the financier of choice for lower middle market corporate borrowers and their private equity owners,' said Zia Uddin, President of Monroe Capital. 'By partnering with two leading credit-focused asset management firms, SMBC will enhance the financing solutions we provide to our middle market financial sponsor client base and continue to grow our footprint with the sponsor community. SMBC, Monroe and MA Financial each share a similar approach to private credit investing with a focus on providing loans to high quality borrowers backed by top-tier middle market private equity owners. These partnerships are an important strategic milestone for the continued development of SMBC's private credit business, and we are excited to commence capital deployment,' said Glenn Autorino, Co-General Manager, Managing Director and Co-Head of Leveraged Finance, SMBC Americas Division. 'We believe that strategic partnerships between specialist lenders, asset managers and banks are the next evolution in private credit. We're pleased to partner with Monroe Capital and SMBC in this innovative joint venture, reflecting the emerging paradigm shift toward co-lending,' Frank Danieli, Head of Global Credit Solutions at MA Financial Group, commented. 'The U.S. middle market presents a compelling opportunity to deploy capital to real world economy businesses while earning strong risk-adjusted returns and benefiting from robust lender protections that are foundational to our credit philosophy. We are excited to unlock access to this opportunity for our clients.' Article content About Monroe Capital Article content Monroe Capital LLC ('Monroe') is a premier asset management firm specializing in private credit markets across various strategies, including direct lending, technology finance, venture debt, alternative credit solutions, structured credit, real estate and equity. Since 2004, the firm has been successfully providing capital solutions to clients in the U.S. and Canada. Monroe prides itself on being a value-added and user-friendly partner to business owners, management, and both private equity and independent sponsors. Monroe's platform offers a wide variety of investment products for both institutional and high net worth investors with a focus on generating high quality 'alpha' returns irrespective of business or economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has 11 locations throughout the United States, Asia and Australia. Article content Monroe has been recognized by both its peers and investors with various awards including DealCatalyst as the 2025 Most Innovative Private Credit CLO Manager of the Year; Private Debt Investor as the 2024 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year, Americas and 2023 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Decade; Inc.'s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors List; Global M&A Network as the 2023 Lower Mid-Markets Lender of the Year, U.S.A.; Korean Economic Daily as the 2022 Best Performance in Private Debt – Mid Cap; Creditflux as the 2021 Best U.S. Direct Lending Fund; and Pension Bridge as the 2020 Private Credit Strategy of the Year. For more information and important disclaimers, please visit Article content SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 150 offices and 120,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and ADRs on the New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. The Group's operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities Canada, Ltd., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC MANUBANK, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. (collectively, SMBC Group Americas Division). For more information, please visit Article content MA Financial Group is a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, real estate, and hospitality. The firm lends to property, corporate, and specialty finance sectors and provides corporate advisory services. With a team of over 700 professionals across Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States, MA Financial manages over A$10.3 billion in assets, oversees A$141 billion in managed loans, and has advised on more than A$125 billion in advisory and equity capital market transactions. Learn more at Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Monroe Capital Media Inquiries Rachael Cressy Marketing Manager Monroe Capital LLC 312-523-2384 rcressy@ Article content Prosek Partners pro-monroe@ Article content SMBC Media Inquiries SMBC Americas MediaRelationsAmericas@ Article content MA Financial Media Inquiries Sam Rockliff m +61 400 168 007 | t +612 8248 3755 sam@ Article content Article content
Business Wire
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial Launch US$1.7 Billion Middle Market Lending Joint Venture
NEW YORK & CHICAGO & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Monroe Capital, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and MA Asset Management (part of MA Financial Group, ASX: MAF) today announced the formation of a new joint venture ('JV'), which will invest up to US$1.7 billion in senior secured loans to U.S. middle market borrowers. The JV harnesses the complementary capabilities of the three partnering institutions to establish a differentiated platform focused on the attractive middle market subset of private credit. This joint venture reflects a broader evolution in the private credit landscape, where asset managers and banks are collaborating to provide scalable, differentiated capital solutions to borrowers. The JV expects to benefit from broad access to high-quality, proprietary deal flow of first-lien senior-secured loans to established middle market companies, leveraging the loan origination capabilities of Monroe Capital's direct lending infrastructure, SMBC's established private credit and sponsor finance platform and MA Financial's expertise in specialty credit and co-lending. The JV's investable capital will be provided by Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial (via its managed funds). Monroe Capital is one of the largest lower middle market direct lenders in the United States, SMBC is a leading global bank with a global middle market sponsor business, and MA Financial is an Australian-headquartered alternative asset manager with an active presence in specialty credit in the United States, for which co-lending is a core strategy. This joint venture reflects a broader evolution in the private credit landscape, where asset managers and banks are collaborating to provide scalable, differentiated capital solutions to borrowers. With a strong alignment of interests, shared credit philosophies and deep origination channels, the strategic partnership between Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial is well positioned to meet the growing demand for financing in a structurally underserved segment of the market. 'We are excited to partner with MA Financial and SMBC to leverage Monroe's robust and comprehensive origination platform for middle market transactions in the United States. We continue to innovate new structures to be the financier of choice for lower middle market corporate borrowers and their private equity owners,' said Zia Uddin, President of Monroe Capital. 'By partnering with two leading credit-focused asset management firms, SMBC will enhance the financing solutions we provide to our middle market financial sponsor client base and continue to grow our footprint with the sponsor community. SMBC, Monroe and MA Financial each share a similar approach to private credit investing with a focus on providing loans to high quality borrowers backed by top-tier middle market private equity owners. These partnerships are an important strategic milestone for the continued development of SMBC's private credit business, and we are excited to commence capital deployment,' said Glenn Autorino, Co-General Manager, Managing Director and Co-Head of Leveraged Finance, SMBC Americas Division. 'We believe that strategic partnerships between specialist lenders, asset managers and banks are the next evolution in private credit. We're pleased to partner with Monroe Capital and SMBC in this innovative joint venture, reflecting the emerging paradigm shift toward co-lending,' Frank Danieli, Head of Global Credit Solutions at MA Financial Group, commented. 'The U.S. middle market presents a compelling opportunity to deploy capital to real world economy businesses while earning strong risk-adjusted returns and benefiting from robust lender protections that are foundational to our credit philosophy. We are excited to unlock access to this opportunity for our clients.' About Monroe Capital Monroe Capital LLC ('Monroe') is a premier asset management firm specializing in private credit markets across various strategies, including direct lending, technology finance, venture debt, alternative credit solutions, structured credit, real estate and equity. Since 2004, the firm has been successfully providing capital solutions to clients in the U.S. and Canada. Monroe prides itself on being a value-added and user-friendly partner to business owners, management, and both private equity and independent sponsors. Monroe's platform offers a wide variety of investment products for both institutional and high net worth investors with a focus on generating high quality 'alpha' returns irrespective of business or economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has 11 locations throughout the United States, Asia and Australia. Monroe has been recognized by both its peers and investors with various awards including DealCatalyst as the 2025 Most Innovative Private Credit CLO Manager of the Year; Private Debt Investor as the 2024 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year, Americas and 2023 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Decade; Inc.'s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors List; Global M&A Network as the 2023 Lower Mid-Markets Lender of the Year, U.S.A.; Korean Economic Daily as the 2022 Best Performance in Private Debt – Mid Cap; Creditflux as the 2021 Best U.S. Direct Lending Fund; and Pension Bridge as the 2020 Private Credit Strategy of the Year. For more information and important disclaimers, please visit About SMBC SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 150 offices and 120,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and ADRs on the New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. The Group's operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities Canada, Ltd., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC MANUBANK, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. (collectively, SMBC Group Americas Division). For more information, please visit About MA Financial Group MA Financial Group is a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, real estate, and hospitality. The firm lends to property, corporate, and specialty finance sectors and provides corporate advisory services. With a team of over 700 professionals across Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States, MA Financial manages over A$10.3 billion in assets, oversees A$141 billion in managed loans, and has advised on more than A$125 billion in advisory and equity capital market transactions. Learn more at
