NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Greenbacker Group LLC, a closely held company with offices in New York, NY and Portland, ME, announced that on September 18, 2017 it closed a financial transaction designed to improve its balance sheet, add new financial resources and increase its management capabilities. The Company, a fund management business that invests in renewable energy and energy efficiency infrastructure, took in a minority investment of $4 million, as well as a new $1.5 million secured loan, from a group of investors led by Kedrick Cerry (KCI), a Florida-based family-office with a strong record of investing in infrastructure assets such as railroads, renewable energy and telecommunications. The Company used the capital to retire existing debt, reduce its interest expense and provide working capital that will help the company execute on its growth strategy into the future. “We are pleased to add Greenbacker to our growing portfolio of infrastructure investments,” noted Michael Durden, CEO of KCI. He went on to say “We are always excited to back experienced management teams as their businesses enter a growth phase.”
Along with this transaction, Greenbacker announced the appointment of Messrs. Ron Iervolino and Robert Brennan as Co-Chairmen of Greenbacker, both of whom are investing alongside KCI. Mr. Iervolino joins Greenbacker with 35 years of industry experience, most recently as head of Guggenheim Debt Capital Markets where he managed Fixed Income, Real Estate and Structured Credit businesses as well as serving on executive committees for Guggenheim Partners. He is currently a partner at Franklin Park, which manages a $1 billion infrastructure fund. Mr. Brennan, a 34-year Wall Street veteran, ran the commercial real estate finance businesses at Guggenheim Partners, Credit Suisse and Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette. Under his leadership, these businesses originated, managed and securitized over a $100 billion of CRE related products across the globe. Additionally, in 2010 Mr. Brennan was a founding investor in Pillar Financial, a specialty finance, servicing and asset management platform focused on housing and health care related properties. He and the team grew the business from one office with 5 employees to 218 employees located in 20 offices across the U.S. Pillar was successfully sold to SunTrust Bank in 2016. Mr. Brennan is currently the Chair of the Investment Committee for the University of Vermont Endowment. “We are extremely pleased to add these thought leaders to our senior executive team,” said Charles Wheeler, the Co-CEO of Greenbacker. “We believe that their extensive experience in the Capital Markets and in particular with Securitizations will help us source new investment opportunities, optimize our debt structures and position our investments to deliver compelling exits for our existing investors.”
Greenbacker Capital Management LLC, a majority owned subsidiary of the Company, is the investment advisor to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC, a publicly registered, non-traded limited liability company that manages a diversified portfolio of income-producing renewable energy power plants, energy efficiency projects and other sustainable investments. Since commencing operations in 2014, GCM now manages in excess of $200 million in solar and wind power generation assets, equal to approximately 150 megawatts of generation capacity, throughout the United States and Canada.
