Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. (NYSE MKT:IFMI) (“IFMI”), a
\nfinancial services firm specializing in credit-related fixed income
\ninvestments, today announced that it has entered into definitive
\nagreements with Mead Park Capital Partners LLC (“Mead Park Capital”)
\nand Cohen Bros. Financial, LLC (“Cohen Bros. Financial”), pursuant to
\nwhich each will make investments in the Company, totaling $13.7 million
\nin the aggregate. Mead Park Capital is a vehicle advised by Mead Park
\nAdvisors LLC, a registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Mead
\nPark Holdings LP (“Mead Park”), and controlled by Jack J. DiMaio, CEO
\nand founder of Mead Park, and Christopher Ricciardi, a partner in Mead
\nPark and former President of IFMI. Cohen Bros. Financial is a limited
\nliability company that is wholly-owned by Daniel G. Cohen, IFMI’s
\nChairman and Chief Executive Officer. The investment and related
\nactions were unanimously approved by the Company’s Board of Directors
\n(with Mr. Cohen abstaining) following the recommendation of the Board’s
\nSpecial Committee, which is comprised of three independent directors.
\nThe resulting share issuance is subject to stockholder approval and
\ncustomary closing conditions. Mr. Cohen, Mr. Ricciardi, each member of
\nthe Company’s Board of Directors and certain members of management,
\nrepresenting approximately 52% of the shares eligible to vote, have
\nsigned voting agreements in support of the transaction.<\/p>\n
Under the terms of the definitive agreements, Mead Park Capital and
\nCohen Bros. Financial will purchase shares of IFMI common stock at
\n$2.00 per share for a combined $5.5 million, and purchase $8.2 million
\nof newly issued 8% convertible senior notes, convertible into 2,749,167
\nshares of common stock at $3.00 per share. Of the $13.7 million
\ninvestment, Mead Park Capital is investing $3.9 million to purchase
\n1,949,167 shares of common stock and $5.8 million in the convertible
\nsenior note issuance, and Cohen Bros. Financial is investing $1.6
\nmillion to purchase 800,000 shares of common stock and $2.4 million in
\nthe convertible senior note issuance. The common stock to be purchased
\nby Mead Park Capital and Cohen Bros. Financial, assuming full
\nconversion of the convertible senior notes into shares of common stock,
\nand considering Mr. Cohen’s convertible IFMI LLC units, represents a
\npro forma ownership interest in the Company of 17% and 32%,
\nrespectively. The invested capital is expected to be deployed in IFMI’s
\noperating businesses and for working capital needs. The Company expects
\nto close the transaction immediately following its Annual Stockholder
\nMeeting, which is expected to be held in July 2013.<\/p>\n
“We are very pleased to have Mead Park as a strategic partner in IFMI,
\nand believe that this transaction is indicative of the value of our
\nbusiness as well as improving market conditions,” said Mr. Cohen.
\n“IFMI’s Board of Directors is unanimously supportive of the transaction
\nand believes the resulting increased capital position will help bolster
\nour operations and enable the Company to generate increased returns for
\nits stockholders. I am also delighted to re-invest in IFMI, remaining
\nthe Company’s largest investor, as we continue to strengthen our
\ncapital markets platform.”<\/p>\n
Upon the closing of the transaction, Mr. DiMaio and Mr. Ricciardi will
\njoin the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. DiMaio will be named
\nChairman, and Mr. Cohen will be named Vice Chairman of the Board. In
\naddition, IFMI’s Board of Directors will be reduced from ten to eight
\nmembers. Current board members who will be included in IFMI’s proxy
\nstatement for its 2013 Annual Stockholder Meeting for election as
\ndirectors are Mr. Cohen, Thomas P. Costello, G. Steven Dawson, Joseph
\nM. Donovan, Charles John Haraburda, and Neil Subin. After many years of
\ndistinguished service, four current board members will not be included
\nin IFMI’s proxy statement for re-election at the 2013 Annual
\nStockholder Meeting: Walter T. Beach, Rodney Bennett, Lance Ullom, and
\nCharles W. Wolcott.<\/p>\n
Mr. Cohen continued, “We would also like to welcome Jack DiMaio and
\nChris Ricciardi to our Board of Directors. We believe their combined
\ncapital markets experience and relationships will enhance the
\ncapabilities of our board and management team. We look forward to their
\ncontributions as we continue to assess our challenges and opportunities
\nand structure the Company for long-term success. Further, on behalf of
\neveryone at IFMI, we thank those board members who will not be standing
\nfor re-election in 2013 for their commitment and contributions to the
\nCompany over their many years of service.”<\/p>\n
In addition, Mr. Cohen has decided to transition to President and Chief
\nExecutive of IFMI’s European operations and will continue to focus on
\ngrowing the Company’s European capital markets and asset management
\noperations. The Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee,
\nalong with Mr. Cohen, are currently undertaking a search for a
\nsuccessor to Mr. Cohen as Chief Executive Officer. Until a successor is
\nappointed, Mr. Cohen will remain as IFMI’s CEO.<\/p>\n
Mr. Cohen concluded, “Given the many promising opportunities in Europe,
\nI have decided that it would be most beneficial for the Company if I
\nwere to focus my energy on IFMI’s operations in the region. This is an
\nexciting time for IFMI and I look forward to continuing to work with
\nIFMI’s talented employees as we build enhanced value for our
\nstockholders.”<\/p>\n
Mr. DiMaio said, “We believe that IFMI represents an ideal strategic
\ninvestment, with strong human capital, infrastructure, and
\ninstitutional experience on which to grow a first-tier structured
\nproducts platform. Mead Park and its principals intend to work closely
\nwith the IFMI management team to bring access to capital and industry
\nrelationships that should create significant leverage for the Company.
\nWe think the Mead Park team can have an immediate impact on the
\nplatform, especially the structured products origination, structuring,
\nand sales businesses where we have great depth of experience as
\noperators. We look forward to further developing our relationship with
\nIFMI and building additional value for the Company’s stockholders.”<\/p>\n
Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. served as financial advisor to the
\nSpecial Committee of IFMI’s Board of Directors and provided a fairness
\nopinion on the proposed transaction. Cooley LLP served as legal advisor
\nto the Special Committee.<\/p>\n
Jack J. DiMaio, Jr. is the CEO and founder of Mead Park. Prior to
\nfounding Mead Park, Mr. DiMaio was a Managing Director and Global Head
\nof Interest Rate, Credit and Currency Trading of Morgan Stanley as well
\nas a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to joining Morgan
\nStanley, Mr. DiMaio co-founded DiMaio Ahmad Capital LLC and served as
\nCEO and Managing Partner. Before starting DiMaio Ahmad Capital, Mr.
\nDiMaio was a Managing Director and Head of the Diversified Credit Hedge
\nFund Group at Credit Suisse Alternative Capital, Inc. He was also an
\nExecutive Board Member of Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Inc. Prior to
\nthat, he was CEO of Alternative Investments at Credit Suisse Asset
\nManagement. Mr. DiMaio joined Credit Suisse in 1989 and after
\ncompleting its sales and trading program, he joined its credit research
\ngroup. In 1990, he joined the Credit Suisse corporate bond trading desk
\nwhere he was appointed Head Trader in 1995 and Department Head in 1996.
\nAt the end of 1997, he was appointed Head of Credit Suisse Global
\nCredit Trading. In 2000, he was responsible for the entire Global
\nCredit Products Cluster and named Head of Fixed Income Division North
\nAmerica. Mr. DiMaio holds a B.S. in Finance from New York Institute of
\nTechnology.<\/p>\n
Christopher Ricciardi is a founding principal of Mead Park. Prior to
\njoining Mead Park, Mr. Ricciardi held various executive positions
\nincluding President at IFMI. Prior to joining IFMI, Mr. Ricciardi was a
\nManaging Director and Global Head of Structured Credit Products for
\nMerrill Lynch. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in April 2003, Mr.
\nRicciardi was a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Structured Credit
\nProducts at Credit Suisse. Mr. Ricciardi began his career at Prudential
\nSecurities. Mr. Ricciardi has been a member of the advisory boards of
\nThe Robins School of Business (University of Richmond) and the Richmond
\nCouncil (University of Richmond) since 2007. Mr. Ricciardi joined the
\nboard of the LSE Centennial Fund, a charitable organization created for
\nthe purpose of supporting and advancing the London School of Economics’
\nmission of research and teaching excellence in the social sciences, in
\n2010. He earned a B.A. from the University of Richmond with one term at
\nthe London School of Economics and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at
\nthe University of Pennsylvania. He is also a CFA charterholder.<\/p>\n
About IFMI<\/p>\n
IFMI is a financial services company specializing in credit-related
\nfixed income investments. IFMI was founded in 1999 as an investment
\nfirm focused on small-cap banking institutions, but has grown to
\nprovide an expanding range of asset management, capital markets, and
\ninvestment banking solutions to institutional investors and
\ncorporations. IFMI’s primary operating segments are Capital Markets and
\nAsset Management. The Capital Markets segment consists of
\ncredit-related fixed income sales, trading, and financing as well as
\nnew issue placements in corporate and securitized products and advisory
\nservices, operating primarily through IFMI’s subsidiaries,
\nC&Co\/PrinceRidge Holdings LP and JVB Financial Holdings, LLC in the
\nUnited States, and Cohen & Company Financial Limited in Europe. The
\nAsset Management segment manages assets through collateralized debt
\nobligations, permanent capital vehicles, and managed accounts. As of
\nMarch 31, 2013, IFMI managed approximately $6.2 billion in
\ncredit-related fixed income assets in a variety of asset classes
\nincluding U.S. trust preferred securities, European hybrid capital
\nsecurities, Asian commercial real estate debt, and mortgage- and
\nasset-backed securities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. (NYSE MKT:IFMI) (“IFMI”), a financial services firm specializing in credit-related fixed income investments, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with Mead Park Capital Partners LLC (“Mead Park Capital”) and Cohen Bros. Financial, LLC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases","category-syndicated"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35446,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35445\/revisions\/35446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}