Category: Press Release

NEW YORK, January 31, 2024 — Golub Capital acted as Administrative Agent and Sole Lead Arranger on a $2.11 billion unitranche facility to refinance Aptean’s existing first lien and second lien broadly syndicated loan facilities.

Aptean is a leading global provider of mission critical, vertical-market-focused enterprise resource planning software primarily for small and medium sized manufacturing businesses.

“Sponsors are increasingly turning to private credit to support larger unitranche facilities, in part because of the growth of the industry and the ability of firms like ours to provide scalable financing solutions to resilient businesses,” said Spyro Alexopoulos, Co-Head of Direct Lending at Golub Capital.

The $2.11 billion unitranche facility is comprised of a $150 million revolving credit facility, $1.66 billion term loan and $300 million delayed draw term loan.

“Golub Capital has consistently been a reliable financing partner and we are thrilled to continue our partnership on this latest transaction,” said Tony Marsh, Managing Director and Chief Capital Markets Officer at TA. “They were uniquely positioned to lead this transaction because of their outstanding capital markets execution capabilities and software experience.”

Golub Capital has been Administrative Agent to Aptean since 2019. Since then, Golub Capital has led more than 10 transactions and helped grow the facility size from $650 million to over $1.7 billion before being refinanced this month.

About Golub Capital Sponsor Finance
Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced credit asset manager. We specialize in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. The firm’s Direct Lending group provides buy-and-hold financing for sponsor-backed transactions with hold positions up to $700 million and arranges syndicated credit facilities up to $2 billion.

As of January 1, 2024, Golub Capital had over 875 employees and over $65 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, London, Seoul and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com.

About Aptean
Aptean is one of the world’s leading providers of purpose-built, industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. With both cloud and on-premise deployment options, Aptean’s products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes to be Ready for What’s Next, Now®. Aptean is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about Aptean and the markets we serve, visit www.aptean.com.

About TA
TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries—technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of December 31, 2022, the firm has over $75B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 750 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with right-sized, right-time practical, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

About Charlesbank Capital Partners
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private investment firm with more than $15 billion of capital raised since inception. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, as well as opportunistic credit and technology investments. The firm seeks to build companies with sustainable competitive advantage and excellent prospects for growth. For more information, please visit www.charlesbank.com.

LONDON, January 22, 2024 — Golub Capital acted as Sole Lender on a recurring revenue loan facility to support the growth financing of Orbus Software, a SilverTree Equity portfolio company.  

Orbus Software is a leading global provider of digital transformation software, serving over 600 blue chip customers and more than 60,000 users across Europe, the US and APAC. The company has been owned by SilverTree Equity since 2021. 

Golub Capital’s deep credit experience and software industry expertise allowed the transaction to close under a tight timeline. This is the Firm’s first transaction with SilverTree Equity. 

About Golub Capital Sponsor Finance
Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced credit asset manager. We specialize in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. The firm’s Direct Lending group provides buy-and-hold financing for sponsor-backed transactions with hold positions up to $700 million and arranges syndicated credit facilities up to $2 billion. 

As of January 1, 2024, Golub Capital had over 875 employees and over $65 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com.  

About Orbus Software
Orbus Software is a leading provider of cloud solutions for enterprise transformation, with offices in the UK and US and regional offices in Australia, Poland, and the UAE. Its enterprise transformation platform provides a comprehensive view of applications, data, processes and capabilities allowing leaders to make informed decisions, optimize cost, minimize risks, and maintain operational resilience in the face of constant change. Customers are predominantly global blue-chip enterprises and government organizations, including AstraZeneca, CIMB Bank, Investec, Three, and Saab. To learn more, follow Orbus Software on LinkedIn. 

About SilverTree Equity
SilverTree Equity is a sector specialist private equity firm. SilverTree invests exclusively in software, technology, and technology-enabled businesses. The firm is differentiated by its focus on value creation, sector specialism, and a deep network of operational resources and industry relationships. The SilverTree team has successfully completed or been involved in over 75 transactions. For more information, please visit silvertreeequity.com. 

NEW YORK, January 18, 2024 – Golub Capital today announced that Andrea Picard will be joining the Firm as Co-Head of Global Institutional Sales in March. Andrea has over 30 years of industry experience and is joining the Firm after more than a decade in institutional sales leadership roles at BlackRock, most recently as head of its U.S. Pensions business. Andrea will join Michele Joyeux as Co-Head of Global Institutional Sales – a combination that will bring together Golub Capital’s long history of nurturing win-win investor relationships with fresh perspective to raise the bar further.

“We are excited to have Andrea join the Firm,” said Craig Benton, Senior Managing Director, Head of the Investor Partners Group at Golub Capital. “This is another key milestone in our multi-year plan to expand and evolve the Investor Partners Group to provide enhanced global coverage and specialized teams for different investor segments.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Golub Capital and look forward to further expanding the Firm’s U.S. and global investor base,” said Andrea Picard, Co-Head of Global Institutional Sales at Golub Capital.

Golub Capital recently opened new offices in Hong Kong and Seoul, each led by industry veterans with deep local relationships, and expanded the Firm’s U.S. and London-based teams to better serve partners in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Recent hires include:

• Michael Husson, Managing Director and Co-Head of Consultant Relations. Prior to Golub Capital, Michael worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
• Allan Duckett, Managing Director at Golub Capital, focused on West Coast client coverage. Prior to Golub Capital, Allan worked at Schroders.
• Dan Kaminski, Managing Director in the Business Development group in New York. Prior to Golub Capital, Dan worked at PIMCO.
• Sam Morse, Director at Golub Capital in London, focused on driving more connectivity with U.K. institutions and consultants. Prior to Golub Capital, Sam worked at Park Square.

Today, Golub Capital’s Investor Partners Group has over 120 client service professionals globally.

About Golub Capital
Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced credit asset manager. We specialize in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. Our sponsor finance expertise also forms the foundation of our Broadly Syndicated Loan and Credit Opportunities investment programs. We nurture long-term, win-win partnerships that inspire repeat business from private equity sponsors and investors.

As of January 1, 2024, Golub Capital had over 875 employees and over $65 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. The firm has lending offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, London, Seoul and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com.

1. Investment firepower reflects equity capital raised by product, multiplied by a product-specific target leverage factor. “Capital under management” is a gross measure of invested capital including leverage as of January 1, 2024.
2. Preliminary results are good faith estimates based on available data as of January 5, 2024. Actual data may differ materially from final closing numbers.
3. Source: Pitchbook’s Leveraged Commentary & Data (Pitchbook LCD). Data as of December 31, 2023.
4. Reflects the Payment Default Rate and Default Rate of all first lien middle market leveraged loans managed by Golub Capital from 2004–Q4 2023. It does not represent the performance of any specific portfolio or fund managed by Golub Capital or its affiliates. Past performance does not guarantee future results. A loan is classified as a Payment Default if there is an uncured payment default with respect to principal or interest. The Payment Default Rate is defined as (a) the aggregate principal amount of first lien middle market leveraged loans on a cost basis that are classified as Payment Defaults during the calendar year divided by (b) the aggregate principal amount of first lien middle market leveraged loans outstanding at the end of the period. In addition to Payment Defaults, we believe certain transactions such as restructurings or deferrals of cash interest could also be classified as Defaults. We believe our Default definition most closely aligns with the Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index definition of defaults. A loan is classified as a Default if it falls within one of the three scenarios: (a) there is an uncured payment default with respect to principal or interest or (b) if the loan has been restructured with a full or partial debt-for-equity exchange. Additionally, effective January 1, 2018, a Default also is deemed to have occurred if a loan is amended such that (i) cash interest is reduced to a rate less than LIBOR + 1% or SOFR + 1% for at least two consecutive quarters and (ii) the loan had an Internal Performance Rating of 1 or 2. The Default Rate is defined as (a) the aggregate principal amount of first lien middle market leveraged loans on a cost basis that are classified as Defaults during the calendar year divided by (b) the aggregate principal amount of first lien middle market leveraged loans outstanding at the end of the period. The default rate of the broadly syndicated leveraged loan market is based on the Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index, measured by principal amount. The Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index is a market value-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the U.S. broadly syndicated loan market based upon market weightings, spreads and interest payments.
5. Source: SEC filings. Please refer to golubcapitalbdc.com for additional information.

Private Equity Backed Companies Exceed Performance Expectations

The Golub Capital Altman Index can provide early insight into financial performance of public companies and GDP in advance of earnings season.

NEW YORK, January 9, 2024 – Middle market private companies in the Golub Capital Altman Index grew earnings by 16% during the first two months of the fourth quarter of 2023, the highest year-over-year earnings growth since Q2 of 2021. Revenue grew 7% during the same period.

Lawrence E. Golub, CEO of Golub Capital, said, “We expected to see strong growth in Q4 2023 and the data exceeded even our expectations. As we said throughout 2023, private equity-owned middle market companies in general are proving resilient and adapting well to the environment. Our middle market report has also performed well. Every quarter in 2023, our data provided consistently correct early insight that economic growth was exceeding the prevailing consensus. The strong revenue and earnings growth of the Golub Capital Altman Index in Q4 2023, in our view, caps off a year that bodes well for investors in private equity. Despite concern about the potential impact of high interest rates and economic uncertainty on the returns of recent private equity fund vintages, fundamental earnings growth gives investors a reason for cautious optimism.”

Dr. Edward I. Altman said, “The Golub Capital Altman Index for Q4 2023 shows that the middle market is in robust shape. Quarterly EBITDA growth of 16.3% year-over-year was the highest in the eight-year history of the Index, apart from the anomalous rebound from 2020 Covid shutdowns in Q2 2021. While Index results were strong across all subsectors, technology continued to outperform. The latest employment data shows that the labor market remains tight, and small- to medium-sized businesses face ongoing shortages of skilled labor. It is not surprising that mission-critical providers of productivity-enhancing enterprise software would benefit from these trends. Our middle market firm indexes, especially the growth rate of aggregate and sectoral EBITDA, have proven to be excellent predictors of overall GDP and larger firm growth in 2023 and we expect these indexes of primarily private equity-owned firms, diversified across several industrial sectors, bodes well for 2024.”

The Golub Capital Altman Index (“GCAI”), which is produced by Golub Capital in collaboration with credit expert Dr. Edward I. Altman, is the first and longest-running index based on actual revenue and earnings (defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or “EBITDA”) for middle market companies. It measures the median revenue and earnings growth of approximately 110–150 private U.S. companies in the loan portfolio of Golub Capital, a leading middle market lender. Reported shortly before public company quarterly earnings season, the GCAI has served as a reliable indicator of the overall growth rates in revenue and earnings of public companies in market indexes such as the S&P 500 and S&P SmallCap 600 (“S&P 600”), as well as quarterly Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”), according to statistical back-testing dating back to 2012, when data began to be tracked.

The size and diversity of the Golub Capital loan portfolio ensure that the confidentiality of all company-specific information used in the index is maintained in both the aggregate and industry segment data.

We believe the results (1) are representative of the general performance of middle market companies, which are a major contributor to U.S. private sector employment; (2) can be easily compared to the performance of the public companies that make up major stock indexes; (3) are relevant to the aggregate economic performance of the U.S. economy and (4) provide timely information for the investment community.

The companies in the GCAI operate in a wide range of industries. Results are provided for the total universe of GCAI constituents and by industry segment. Given the index’s limited exposure to Financials, Utilities, Energy and Materials, comparisons are made to the S&P 500 and S&P 600 as well as to “adjusted” versions of those indexes that exclude the aforementioned sectors.

About the Golub Capital Middle Market Report
The Golub Capital Middle Market Report analyzes the results of the Golub Capital Altman Index (“GCAI”), which measures the median revenue and earnings growth of approximately 110–150 privately owned companies in the Golub Capital loan portfolio for the first two months of each calendar quarter. It compares these results to the financial performance of well-known market indexes, including the S&P 500 and S&P SmallCap 600. The GCAI is produced by Golub Capital in collaboration with credit expert Dr. Edward I. Altman. Effective Q2 2022, the Golub Capital Altman Index (GCAI) excludes Golub Capital portfolio companies that have recurring revenue-based credit facilities. The data referenced herein may not reflect all companies in the loan portfolio of Golub Capital during the time periods indicated.

About Golub Capital
Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced credit asset manager. We specialize in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. Our sponsor finance expertise also forms the foundation of our Broadly Syndicated Loan and Credit Opportunities investment programs. We nurture long-term, win-win partnerships that inspire repeat business from private equity sponsors and investors.

As of January 1, 2024, Golub Capital had over 875 employees and over $65 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. The firm has lending offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com.

About Dr. Edward I. Altman
A leading expert on credit markets, Dr. Edward I. Altman is the Max L. Heine Professor of Finance, Emeritus at the NYU Stern School of Business, and Director of Research in Credit and Debt Markets at the NYU Salomon Center for the Study of Financial Institutions. He is currently an advisor to several foreign central banks. Professor Altman has published or edited two-dozen books and over 150 articles in scholarly finance, accounting and economic journals. He has been inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Hall of Fame, served as President of the Financial Management Association, was an FMA Fellow, and was amongst the inaugural inductees into the Turnaround Management Association Hall of Fame. He received his MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Important Disclosure
The Golub Capital Altman Index is provided as an indicator only and does not constitute investment advice or the offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security. Some of these statements constitute forward-looking statements, which may be predictions about future events, future performance, or future financial conditions. Some of these statements reflect opinions based upon the data presented in the Index, and these opinions may be incorrect. Actual results could vary materially from those implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements for any reason. The Golub Capital Altman Index has been created on the basis of information provided by third-party sources that are believed to be reliable, but the information has not been verified independently by Golub Capital. Golub Capital makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy or completeness of such third-party information.