SG Corporate & Investment Banking today announced plans to offer US leveraged finance services in the US.
Based in New York, the business will report dually to Powell Robinson, head of Financing for the Americas, and Rene de Laigue, global head of Leveraged & Acquisition Finance.
The move will entail setting up a team of ten professionals, combining US leveraged financiers with SG CIB staff members to be transferred from its successful European leveraged finance franchise. The business is expected to be fully operational before the end of the year.
Once in place, the US team will offer financial sponsors a full menu of financing services ranging from senior and mezzanine or second lien debt underwriting to high yield and equity asset classes.
The new entity will provide debt arranging, underwriting and book-running services to private equity firms active in the mid to upper segments of the market.
The American leveraged finance team will seek to capitalize on SG CIB’s recognized product leadership and focused industry knowledge in the US. It will draw on SG CIB’s expertise in Media & Telecoms, Gaming & Lodging, Sports, Real Estate, Utilities and Oil & Gas as well as on its product (Advisory, Hedging and Securitization) and distribution (High Yield and Syndication) capabilities.
“With the creation of the U.S. arm of our leveraged finance business, we will extend our reach to key clients — and investors — on both sides of the Atlantic and transform a regional business into a global one,” said de Laigue.
Robinson added: “Our integrated approach to servicing clients ensures that this key initiative will complement all SG CIB’s existing product and industry expertise in the U.S.”