DALLAS, Oct. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Beneficient (NASDAQ: BENF) (“Ben” or the “Company”), a technology-enabled financial services holding company that provides liquidity and related trust and custody services to holders of alternative assets, today announced that, through an indirect subsidiary, it has entered into and closed on a $25 million three-year term loan financing with HH-BDH LLC (“Hicks”), an entity associated with Tom Hicks, a member of Beneficient’s board of directors. The Company plans to utilize the proceeds to repay certain of its outstanding obligations, fund product distribution, and provide additional working capital.
The three-year term loan is secured by various assets owned by Beneficient and related entities. Borrowings under the credit agreement will bear interest calculated according to a base rate, an adjusted term SOFR rate or an adjusted daily simple SOFR rate, at the Company’s election. The Company elected the option of adjusted daily simple SOFR + 6.5% for the first two years and adjusted daily simple SOFR + 5.5% for the third year, with interest payable monthly. In addition, the terms of the loan include a prepayment fee if all or any portion of the loan principal is paid back prior to two years following the closing date. Hicks received funding for the term loan financing through a loan from an unaffiliated financial institution.
“On behalf of the board of directors we want to thank Mr. Hicks for his support and contributions as a long-time member of our board,” said CEO and Chairman of Beneficient, Mr. Brad Heppner. “We continue to make progress in our efforts to position the business for growth and this financing will contribute to the execution of our business plan as we work to create value for our shareholders,” he added.
Mr. Hicks, Chairman, Founder, and Partner of Hicks Holdings LLC, commented, “I am deeply committed to the Company’s mission to democratize the alternative asset market and generate significant value for our stakeholders. My efforts to help facilitate this financing demonstrate my confidence in the team and Beneficient’s unique business model and the opportunities to build long-term value.”
For further details and terms of the transaction, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings at trustben.com.
About Beneficient
Beneficient (Nasdaq: BENF) – Ben, for short – is on a mission to democratize the global alternative asset investment market by providing traditionally underserved investors − mid-to-high net worth individuals and small-to-midsized institutions − with early liquidity exit solutions that could help them unlock the value in their alternative assets. Ben’s AltQuote™ tool provides customers with a range of potential liquidity exit options within minutes, while customers can log on to the AltAccess® portal to digitize their alternative assets in order to explore early exit opportunities, receive proposals for liquidity in a secure online environment, engage custodial services for the digital alternative assets and receive data analytics to better inform investment decision making.
Its subsidiary, Beneficient Fiduciary Financial, L.L.C., received its charter under the State of Kansas’ Technology-Enabled Fiduciary Financial Institution (TEFFI) Act and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
For more information, visit www.trustben.com or follow on LinkedIn.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date of this document and are based on our management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts, projections, assumptions, beliefs and information. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, and could cause future events or results to be materially different from those stated or implied in this document. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. These risks include, but are not limited to, our ability to consummate liquidity transactions on terms desirable for the Company, or at all, and the risk factors that are described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this document and in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.