Delta Capital Partners Management LLC, Chicago-Based Litigation Finance Firm, Announces New Offices and Hires

By John Freund |

CHICAGO, Jan. 8, 2020 –Delta Capital Partners Management LLC, a private equity and advisory firm specializing in litigation finance, today announced major milestones in its growth.

Christopher DeLise, Delta’s Managing Principal, CEO and CO-CIO, stated, “Delta has met its key business objectives for 2019 by hiring top-tier professionals, building out our geographic footprint, and joining forces with a top-tier global financial partner.  These developments have strengthened Delta’s AUM and the successful completion of recoveries for claimants, Delta and the firm’s investors. We look forward to continuing to provide world-class services to our investors and clients in 2020.”

Delta’s Geographic Reach and Team Expansion

In 2019, Delta increased its presence in several geographies where it had historically done business, by opening offices in Madrid, Prague, Warsaw and Hong Kong.

New Management Team Members 

Daniel Bond, Esq., Managing Director

Daniel Bond has been hired to lead Delta’s intake, evaluation, due diligence, and monitoring efforts to support new investment opportunities. Mr. Bond was previously a Partner at Kirkland Ellis LLP. Mr. Bond has had a 10+ year law firm career with extensive experience in the planning and management of commercial litigation and dispute resolution.

Since 2015, Mr. Bond has been named by Leading Lawyers as an “Emerging Lawyer in Illinois,” an honor given to the top 2% of lawyers who are 40 years old or younger or practicing law 10 years or less, who have proven themselves professional, ethical and experienced at an early point in their legal career.

Michael Makridakis, Esq., Managing Director – Asia, Australia and Offshore Jurisdictions

Michael Makridakis has been hired to lead Delta’s business in Asia, Australia, and in the Offshore Jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, BVI and the Channel Islands. Mr. Makridakis works out of the firm’s Hong Kong office.

Prior to joining Delta, Mr. Makridakis was Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution & Insolvency of the Hong-Kong office of Carey Olsen. Mr. Makridakis has a broad range of experience with investment funds, both offshore and domestically. Mr. Makridakis has worked extensively with distressed investment funds and has been a commercial litigator for over 15 years with extensive global litigation and arbitration expertise. Prior to launching the Hong-Kong office of Carey Olsen, Mr. Makridakis practiced law in the Cayman Islands, starting his career with Walkers Global in 2008.

Petr Malecek, Esq., Managing Director – Central & Eastern Europe

Petr Malecek has been hired to lead Delta’s business in Central and Eastern Europe. Mr. Malecek works out of the firm’s Warsaw and Prague offices. Mr. Malecek has over 20 years of experience advising corporate and sovereign entities on banking, finance and dispute-related matters in jurisdictions across Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Delta, Mr. Malecek co-founded a multi-disciplinary advisory practice where his areas of expertise included litigation management, dispute resolution, asset recovery, cross-border leveraged finance and the coordination of the company’s  advisors/practices and external contractors. Previously, Mr. Malecek was a Partner at CMS Cameron Mckenna and ran the banking and finance practices in Warsaw and Kyiv during that time.

Joseph Drozd, Jr., Director – Strategic Initiatives & Investor Relations

Joseph Drozd brings over ten years of experience in investment management and specializes in fundraising and managing a fund’s entire investment process. Before joining Delta, Mr. Drozd was the director of strategy and marketing with a major Chicago-based investment management company.    Joe formerly was a portfolio manager and director of research for a multi-family office in Chicago and previously worked in the alternatives group at Mercer Investments.

Jennifer Conley, Director – Marketing & Communications

Jennifer Conley has been hired to lead Delta’s marketing and communications efforts. Ms. Conley has worked in marketing and business development across the legal and financial services industries for over 13 years. Ms. Conley is responsible for developing marketing and branding strategies, client pitches and proposals, social media initiatives, competitive intelligence research, national conference sponsorships, and client socials.  Prior to joining Delta, Ms. Conley was a Global Practice Development Manager at Winston & Strawn and focused on practice and client development initiatives for the firm.

In addition to the new management team members noted above, Delta also hired several support, finance, accounting, and legal professionals during 2019, including: Daniel Noonan, Alon Polischuk, and Erin Bishop, Esq.

Delta’s Institutional Financial Partner in 2019

In May 2019, Delta entered a joint venture with a prominent Chicago-based asset manager that has made more than 60 investments since 2007.  The firm has had commitments and deployments of over $5 billion since inception and has an AUM of $9 billion.  The firm manages funds with a variety of investment strategies, including private equity, venture capital, specialty financing, distressed bond and credit alternatives, and has invested extensively in litigation finance over the last decade.

About Delta Capital Partners Management LLC

Delta Capital Partners Management LLC is a US-based private equity and advisory firm specializing in litigation finance, judgment enforcement, asset recovery and related strategies serving claimants, law firms and other professional service firms, and businesses across the globe. The firm provides capital and expertise that enables their clients to de-risk, focus on their core businesses, and significantly enhance the probability of a successful and timely resolution of their and/or their clients’ claims.

Contact:

Delta Capital Partners

Jennifer Conley, 312-481-8194

jconley@deltacph.com

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Darrow Names Mathew Keshav Lewis As Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager

By John Freund |

Darrow, the leading AI-powered justice intelligence platform, today announced the appointment of Mathew Keshav Lewis as its first Chief Revenue Officer and US General Manager. Lewis brings over 20 years of experience driving revenue and growth for high-profile legal and technology companies – including SaaS platform Dealpath, alternative investment platform Yieldstreet, and legal services pioneer Axiom Law – and will be responsible for helping Darrow scale as it continues an accelerated growth trajectory. 

"Mathew's arrival at Darrow opens enterprise-level deals to all plaintiff law firms, previously accessible only to a select few,” said Evyatar Ben Artzi, CEO and Co-Founder of Darrow. “His expertise from YieldStreet and Axiom empowers our partners to leverage AI, driving unprecedented growth and innovation.” 

Lewis, who will be based in Darrow’s New York headquarters, joins Darrow after serving as the first Chief Revenue Officer of Dealpath, a real estate deal management platform. He also previously held the role of Chief Revenue Officer and GM, Investments at Yieldstreet, where he drove record revenue and growth for the investment platform. 

“I’m delighted to join a team of tremendously talented individuals at Darrow, who have already disrupted the legal technology space and forged the path ahead,” said Mathew Keshav Lewis, Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager of Darrow. “I am inspired by Darrow’s progress to date, and I look forward to working alongside Darrow’s growing team to expand the company’s footprint.”

This announcement comes at a period of rapid growth for the company, which completed its $35 million Series B funding round last year. Darrow currently works on active litigation valued over $10 billion across legal domains such as privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust. 

About Darrow: Founded in 2020, Darrow is a LegalTech company on a mission to fuel law firm growth and deliver justice for victims of class and mass action lawsuits. Darrow's AI-powered justice intelligence platform leverages generative AI and world-class legal experts and technologists to uncover egregious violations across legal domains spanning privacy and data breach, consumer protection, securities and financial fraud, environment, and employment. Darrow is based out of New York City and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit: darrow.ai

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Omni Bridgeway Releases Investment Portfolio Report for 3Q24

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX: OBL) (Omni Bridgeway, OBL, Group) announces the key investment performance metrics for the three months ended 31 March 2024 (3Q24, Quarter) and for the financial year to date (FYTD).

Summary

  • Investment income of A$296 million FYTD; A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL.
  • 23 full completions, 17 partial completions FYTD, with an overall multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of2.0x.
  • A$333 million of new commitments FYTD with a corresponding A$447 million in new fair value, on track to achieve our A$625 million target.
  • Pricing remains at improved levels, up 32% for the FYTD compared to FY23.
  • Strong pipeline, with agreed term sheets outstanding for an estimated A$212 million in new commitments.
  • OBL cash and receivables of A$101 million plus A$60 million in undrawn debt at 31 March 2024.
  • A$4.4 billion of possible estimated portfolio value (EPV) in completions over the next 12 months. 
  • Further simplification and enhancement of our disclosures as announced at the Annual General Meeting, comprising non-IFRS OBL-only financials and non-IFRS fair value on a portfolio basis and OBL-only basis.
  • These new disclosures and metrics, as well as a valuation framework for our existing book and platform, were presented at our investor day on 27 March 2024.

Refer to https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

Key metrics and developments for the Quarter

Income and completions

  • Investment income of A$296 million generated from A$193 million income recognised and A$103 million income yet to be recognised (IYTBR), with A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL FYTD (excluding management and performance fees). 
  • During the Quarter, 11 full completions and 11 partial completions (excluding IYTBR), resulting in 23 full completions and 17 partial completions (excluding IYTBR) FYTD, and one secondary market transaction, with a FYTD overall MOIC of 2.0x.

New commitments

  • Our stated targets for FY24 include A$625 million in new commitments or equivalent value, prioritising value over volume to reflect potential for improved pricing of new commitments.
  • FYTD new commitments of A$333 million at 31 March 2024 (from matters that were newly funded, conditionally approved or had increased investment opportunities). 
  • The fair value associated with these commitments is $447million, 72% of the full year value generation target.
  • Pipeline of 37 agreed exclusive term sheets, representing approximately A$212 million in investment opportunities, which if converted into funded investments is a further 34% of our FY24 commitments target.  
  • In addition to the regular new commitments to investments in the existing funds FYTD, an additional A$11.5 million of external co-fundings were secured for these investments to manage fund concentration limits. OBL will be entitled to management fees as well as performance fees on such external co-funding.

Portfolio review

  • A$4.4 billion of EPV is assessed to possibly complete in the 12 months following the end of the quarter. This 12 month rolling EPV is based on investments which are subject to various stages of (anticipated) settlement discussions or for which an award or a judgment is expected. All or only part of these may actually complete during the 12 month period.
  • We anticipate replacing these final EPV metrics with fair value metrics by the end of this financial year.

Cash reporting and financial position

  • At 31 March 2024, the Group held A$100.7 million in cash and receivables (A$62.8 million in OBL balance sheet cash, A$2.0 million in OBL balance sheet receivables and A$35.9 million of OBL share of cash and receivables within Funds) plus access to a further A$60 million in debt.
  • In aggregate, we have approximately A$161 million to meet operational needs, interest payments, and fund investments before recognising any investment completions, secondary market sales, management and transaction fees, and associated fund performance fees.
  • Post Quarter-end and as per the date of this report, in anticipation of the expiry of the availability period of the debt facility, OBL has drawn down the A$60 million in undrawn debt and received the funds.

Investor day

The investor day presentation and Q&A which took place on 27 March 2024 can be viewed at https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

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Carpentum Capital Launches Aurigon Litigation Risk Consulting (LRC)

By John Freund |

The team around former Carpentum Capital has launched AURIGON LITIGATION RISK CONSULTING (LRC), a litigation funding intermediary based in Switzerland with a special focus on Latin America. 

Founder and Managing Director Dr. Detlef A. Huber comments: ”AURIGON LRC is combining two worlds, litigation finance and insurance. Both areas are increasingly overlapping. Insurers offer ever more litigation risk transfer products and funders recur to insurance to hedge their risks. Hence complexity and advisory requirements are increasing, especially in still developing markets like Latin America. With our team of lawyers and former re/insurance executives trained in Latin America, the US, UK and Europe we are perfectly suited to advice our clients in any stage of the funding process or in related insurance matters. Our goal is to become the preferred partner for litigation and arbitration funding projects out of Latin American jurisdictions and I am looking forward to this new adventure.”

ABOUT AURIGON

AURIGON Advisors Ltd. is operating as re/insurance consultancy since 2011 with a special focus on dispute resolution and auditing. With AURIGON LRC an intermediary for litigation funding has been launched servicing our clients out of Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Switzerland in Spanish, English, Portuguese and German. With our experience setting up the first Swiss litigation fund dedicated to Latin America (founded 2018), and in the insurance advisory area (since 2011), we are bringing together knowledge of processes and mindsets of the funding and the insurance world. 

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