AS IT BEGINS ITS ELEVENTH YEAR, ABACUS FINANCE ANNOUNCES THE PROMOTIONS OF ERIC PETERSEN, RAFAL RYDZEWSKI, AND AUSTIN RENDELL
New York, NY, January 18, 2022 - As it enters its eleventh year, Abacus Finance Group, LLC, a leading provider of cash flow-based, classic senior debt for sponsor-led buyouts of companies with $3 million to $15 million in EBITDA, today announced three promotions that are effective immediately:
Eric Petersen – from Director to Managing Director
Rafal Rydzewski – from Vice President to Senior Vice President
Austin Rendell – from Associate to Senior Associate
“Now in our eleventh year, we are especially proud of the accomplishments of what has become one of the most experienced investment teams in our industry. As that experience continues to deepen, we are better prepared to meet our goal of always providing our sponsors with the talent and resources that will deliver swift and efficient service and give them peace of mind,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus. “The strength of our investment team and our ability to move quickly are important aspects of why they can Count on Us™ and the effectiveness of our Total Partnership Approach™.”
As an investment team member, Eric Petersen, who joined Abacus in 2013, leads structuring, underwriting, executing, monitoring, and valuing investments for the firm. Eric previously worked within the Leveraged Finance group at BNP Paribas, with prior operational experience with Chromalloy and GE Energy - Power & Water. Prior to transitioning to the private sector, he spent over 14 years as a Naval Officer and F/A-18 Fighter Pilot with multiple roles across operations, maintenance, and as an instructor. Eric holds a BS in English from the United States Naval Academy, an MS in Quantitative and Computational Finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Rafal Rydzewski, who joined Abacus in 2014, is involved as an investment team member with structuring, underwriting, executing, monitoring, and valuing investments for the firm. He was previously an Analyst with BNP Paribas’ Merchant Banking Group. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Structuring team. Rafal earned a BS in Financial Economics from Binghamton University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. He is a CFA Charterholder.
Austin Rendell, who joined Abacus Finance in 2019 as an Analyst, works as part of the investment team in structuring, underwriting. and executing new investments. He also performs various portfolio monitoring and valuation roles. Previously, he was an Analyst at BMO Harris Bank in its Food & Consumer group. Austin earned a BS from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
About Abacus Finance Group, LLC
Celebrating its eleventh anniversary in 2022, Abacus Finance is a leading direct lending company, focused on providing cash flow senior financing to private equity/family office-sponsored, lower-middle market companies across diverse industries. Since Abacus’s inception in 2011, it has closed over $2 billion in financings. The firm targets private debt financing opportunities of up to $50 million and finances companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Abacus is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust, which was founded in 1850.
Abacus Finance is located at 335 Madison Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10017. All inquiries and new investment opportunities should be directed to Tim Clifford at 212-850-4620 or cliffordt@abacusfinance.com. Please visit abacusfinance.com for more information.
The Total Partnership Approach™, a registered trademark of Abacus Finance, LLC, brings together cash-flow financing expertise, deep industry knowledge and exceptional client service over the lifecycle of each investment – all providing our sponsors with certainty of close and giving them peace of mind. Our team’s deep industry knowledge combined with an obsession for efficiency results in a turnaround time of under 72 hours. This swift response time is just one aspect of our Total Partnership Approach™ – a comprehensive methodology that reflects our emphasis on growing relationships rather than just focusing on the number of transactions.
Why should you Count on Us™? The answer lies in the deep partnerships we forge by going well above and beyond what sponsors traditionally have come to expect. We don’t believe in the phrase “good enough.” We push ourselves to create custom financing solutions tailored for each company – deals are started from the ground up, and we work side-by-side with the private equity sponsors we serve during each stage of the transaction life cycle.