Stifel Grows Sponsor Finance Group

New Hires Augment Efforts to Best Serve Lending Needs of the Private Equity Community

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) today announced several key hires in its Sponsor Finance Group. Kayle Green, Brandon Kelley, and Cole Morgan have joined Stifel Bank & Trust from BBVA (now part of PNC) and are based in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. They will report directly to Juli Van Hook, Head of Sponsor Finance, and work closely with the Chicago-based team led by Jackie Hopkins.

With national coverage, the Stifel Sponsor Finance Group partners with private equity firms to provide their portfolio companies with a variety of senior debt financing options, including revolvers, term loans, delayed draw term loans, and senior stretch loans. The Stifel Sponsor Finance Group targets middle-market and above companies, across industries, with defensible market positions, strong free cash flow, and attractive margins.

“We are committed to serving the private equity community, as we continue adding experienced, relationship-focused professionals with varied skill sets to our growing team,” said Van Hook. “It is my pleasure to welcome Kayle, Brandon, and Cole to Stifel to help further the growth within the Sponsor Finance lending vertical.”

Kayle Green and Brandon Kelley join Stifel as Managing Directors. Previously, they were co-founders and Senior Managers of BBVA’s Sponsor Coverage division, a multibillion-dollar direct lending platform focused on senior debt financings for leveraged buyouts. In this role, they were responsible for creating the bank’s go-to-market strategy, underwriting protocol, and risk framework for middle-market, sponsor-backed transactions. Since 2010, they helped deploy more than $4 billion of senior debt across a variety of industries. Prior to BBVA, Messrs. Green and Kelley co-founded the Leveraged Finance division of ORIX, a private credit lending and asset management platform.

Additionally, Cole Morgan has joined Stifel as an Assistant Vice President, also from BBVA.

Since its formation in 2016, the Stifel Sponsor Finance Group has made $1.9 billion in commitments and closed 135 transactions with 53 discrete sponsors.

“Through our Sponsor Finance, Leveraged Finance, Corporate Lending, Venture Banking, and Fund Banking teams, we are pleased to deliver the benefits of the entire Stifel platform to institutional clients and entrepreneurs,” noted Chris Reichert, CEO of Stifel Bank & Trust. “We’re now large enough to execute even the most complex transactions, but remain nimble enough to meet the unique and fluid needs of our diverse customer base.”

Stifel Company Information
Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that conducts its banking, securities, and financial services business through several wholly owned subsidiaries. Stifel’s broker-dealer clients are served in the United States through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, including its Eaton Partners business division; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.; Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC; and Stifel Independent Advisors, LLC. The Company’s broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities. Stifel Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust offer a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions. Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. offer trust and related services. To learn more about Stifel, please visit the Company’s website at www.stifel.com. For global disclosures, please visit https://www.stifel.com/investor-relations/press-releases.

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