NEW YORK, July 20, 2005 � Garnet Capital Advisors, LLC today announced the opening of a new office in Warsaw, Poland to develop a loan-sale and investment banking practice in Poland and CentralEurope.
In conjunction with this expansion, Garnet added a team of Polish nationals to its staff in both Warsaw and New York:
� Veteran Polish banker Barbara Skodowska, who comes to Garnet from Millennium Bank, will act as General Director of the Warsaw office;
� Polish marketing specialist Agata Obrebska will coordinate new-business development and marketing efforts from Garnet�s New York headquarters office.
�We are tremendously excited to tap into the great business opportunity in Poland and Central Europe,� said Garnet Managing Partner Sean McVity. �Garnet has a long history of developing new markets, and making it easier for credit-granting institutions to find liquidity for a wide variety of new products.
�Garnet has historically brought analytic discipline, strong disclosure standards and clear, sharp portfolio presentation which streamline the sale process and make value much clearer for sellers. With our 15 years of experience in selling all classes of corporate and retail loans, both performing and nonperforming, we believe we can play a role in the development of the Polish secondary loan markets and add significant value for financial institutions there.�
In Poland and Eastern Europe, Garnet will provide a broad range of financial advisory services to firms involved in the origination, management, and secondary-market trading of loan receivables:
Advisory Services:
� Garnet�s Asset Sales Group will manage loan-portfolio sales and perform portfolio valuations for banks, finance companies, debt purchasers and other credit-granting institutions;
� The Investment Banking Group will assist select firms in the debt purchasing industry in raising debt and equity capital, manage mergers and acquisition transactions and advise these companies with strategy and development.
� The Structured Finance Group provides stakeholders and fiduciaries in structured deals with monitoring and disposition alternatives to maximize value of their investment portfolios.
Capital Investments:
In addition to its core loan-sale advisory service, Garnet will pursue selected portfolio-purchase transactions, and seek opportunities to make equity investments in superior debt-purchasing companies in the Polish and Eastern Europe markets where it feels Garnet can add value in the growth and development of these firms.
About Garnet:
Garnet Capital Advisors, LLC, headquartered in New York City, is a leading financial advisor in the debt-sales market, providing loan-sale advisory services to banks and other creditors, and capital-raising and M&A services to leading debt purchasers. Garnet has offices in New York, Warsaw and Tokyo. Bear, Stearns Merchant Banking and Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund, L.P., a division of Fortress Investment Group, are minority investors in Garnet.
About our Investors:
Bear, Stearns Merchant Banking
Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, an affiliate of the global investment bank Bear, Stearns & Co., invests private equity capital in compelling leveraged buyout, recapitalization and growth capital opportunities. Bear Stearns Merchant Banking currently is investing its $1.5 billion Private Equity fund on behalf of institutional investors and Bear Stearns and primarily invests $25 – $200 million of equity capital in established middle-market companies. Merchant Banking has established Bear Growth Capital Partners, primarily focusing on equity investments of greater than $5 million.
Fortress Investments
Fortress Investment Group is a global alternative investment and asset management firm founded in 1998 with approximately $12 billion in equity capital currently under management. With headquarters in New York, Fortress and its affiliates have offices in London, Rome, Frankfurt and Geneva. Fortress�s Principals include Peter Briger, Wesley Edens, Robert Kauffman, Randal Nardone and Michael Novogratz. Fortress has over 230 employees worldwide in private equity, hedge funds and real estate securities investing.
For further information contact:
New York:
Sean McVity, Managing Partner
Garnet Capital Advisors, LLC
383 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10179
Tel: + (212) 272-3884
E-Mail: smcvity@bear.com
Web: www.garnetcapital.com
Barbara Skodowska
Tel: +48 607 305 365
E-Mail: bsklodowska@bear.com
