Lead Left Interview – Ken Wormser and David Powar (Part 2)

This week we continue our conversation with Ken Wormser and David Powar, managing partners at GreensLedge. Founded in 2008, GreensLedge is an independent investment banking firm focused on the global structured credit and alternative investment marketplace. With offices in New York, London, Tokyo and Seoul, the firm provides advisory and related transactional services to issuers, investors and other institutional market participants worldwide. Second of two parts – View part one.

The Lead Left: We’ve been talking about CLOs, but that’s not your only area of expertise.

David Powar: CLOs are only a piece of what we do. We’ve done three middle market CLOs for Golub, and we’re doing one for you all at Churchill. But there’s a non-capital markets element of our business. We arrange bespoke financings, whether it’s with a club of banks or bilaterals. We can finance a portfolio of direct loans or less-liquid loans, whether in the US or Europe.

TLL: Could you give us another example of the way you work from a relationship perspective?

Ken Wormser: When Churchill put its stake in the ground at TIAA you had a relationship with another bank. They provided you with some financing. We have helped other managers find financing partners to match their needs the best.  We’re in that market every day. We’ve arranged over thirty facilities with various  financial institutions, funding portfolios of loans. Not necessarily as a warehouse with a CLO takeout. It can be a term facility to a BDC or other direct lending businesses as well.

DP: We can serve both as an advisor and finding lenders. The solution may not always be obvious. We can add a pair of arms and legs to get the most effective leverage facility in place. We work with large firms like HPS, Alliance Bernstein, as well as smaller shops like Comvest and Deerpath.