Debt Capital Markets
Equity Capital Markets
Mergers & Acquisitions
Sponsor Coverage    
Private Company Advisory      

Debt Capital Markets


Restructuring & Advisory

Stephens combines its industry banking expertise with its leveraged finance experience to help clients negotiate with various types of lenders including traditional banks and finance companies to institutional investors such as CLOs, CDOs and subordinated debt funds.  We provide our clients with thoughtful, unbiased financing advice as it relates to their merger and acquisition opportunities including:

  • Negotiating refinancings with existing bank groups
  • Negotiating and placing bridge financing and commitment papers
  • Assessing the alternatives and solutions for long term financings

We also help our clients negotiate a range of restructurings including but not limited to the following:

  • Financial covenant violations
  • Permitted acquisitions basket increase
  • Restricted payments/dividends basket increase
  • Material pricing, amortization and maturity alterations
  • Waivers and Forbearance Agreements

"Stephens'" unique and deep credit markets insight provides our clients with the relevant knowledge required to design a restructuring most appropriate for its operating structure.

Public Debt Placements

Stephens traces its origins back to the public finance markets of the early 1930’s.  Today, our fixed income platform includes sales and trading as well as structuring and origination of corporate investment grade and high yield debt as well as various structured finance products.  Stephens’ team of Leveraged Finance professionals assists clients in accessing the public debt markets through structuring and arranging corporate investment grade and high yield instruments as well as less traditional forms of public debt such as the Term Loan B product.  Over the years, Stephens has underwritten numerous public debt transactions.  Most recently in the fourth quarter of 2009, the firm helped arrange, structure and market over $1.4 billion in corporate high yield debt across multiple industries.  Stephens remains committed to providing its clients with unbiased advice how best to structure and arrange public debt while leveraging its relationships with on and off Wall Street debt investors to obtain favorable terms for its clients.

Private Debt Placements

Because Stephens has always been a private institution, we are keenly aware of the importance of discretion.  Therefore, we are uniquely qualified to provide clients access to private debt capital. Our team is well-positioned to provide unbiased advice on structuring, arranging and sourcing private debt ranging from $15 million to well over half a billion dollars.  Stephens uses its longstanding relationships with super-regional, regional and local banks as well as commercial finance companies, insurance companies, CLOs and subordinated debt funds to help clients successfully execute refinancings, dividend/recapitalizations, shareholder buyouts, capital expenditure and acquisition financings.  Specialists in structuring and negotiating private financings, we advise clients placing a range of debt instruments, including:

  • Secured and Unsecured Senior Credit Facilities
    • Asset Based Revolvers or Traditional Cash Flow Revolvers
    • Term Loans   
  • Second Lien Term Loans
  • Mezzanine and Subordinate Debt