Fifth Third Bank has formed a focused private equity lending team, Fifth Third Sponsor Leveraged Finance.
The team will provide cash flow financings to a select group of private equity clients and will target businesses with USD10m to USD50m in earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization.
Managing directors Brian Crabb and Josh VanManen will lead the team.
Crabb comes to Fifth Third Bank with experience in the leveraged environment from Heller Financial, GE Capital, and most recently, CapitalSource Finance.
VanManen joins the team from Fifth Third Bank’s structured finance business, where he most recently ran the group’s Western region team in Denver.
"Fifth Third Sponsor Leveraged Finance marks a new foray into middle market private equity lending for Fifth Third Bank," says Crabb. "At a time when sources of debt for private equity deals have been severely diminished, we are excited to enter this arena with a dedicated and focused effort. With the capital strength of Fifth Third Bank and the knowledge and experience of our team, we believe there is a real opportunity to provide our clients with the products, knowledge and support that they need and deserve."
