NewStar Taps Banking Veteran Pat McAuliffe to Lead Leveraged Finance

BOSTON, June 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewStar Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:NEWS) announced today that it has named banking veteran Pat McAuliffe to lead its Leveraged Finance business and added senior bankers, Eric Herr and Matt Colucci, to its Leveraged Finance origination team as managing directors. With the additions of Herr, Colucci and recent hire, Wes Frangul, NewStar continues to build and enhance the quality of its middle market sponsor coverage team.

After serving as co-head of Leveraged Finance in 2012, McAuliffe will now lead NewStar's efforts to deepen relationships with its core clients, while also broadening its coverage of private equity firms with investment strategies focused on the middle market. Mr. Herr will open a new office for NewStar in New York City and Mr. Colucci will be based in the company's Darien CT office. Mr. Frangul is based in Chicago. Former co-head, David Dobies, has left the firm to pursue other professional interests.

"Today's announcement reflects the continued growth and expansion of our direct lending platforms focused on the middle markets," said Tim Conway, NewStar's CEO. "I am very excited to have banking veteran and proven manager, Pat McAuliffe, lead our Leveraged Finance business as we continue to grow this specialized lending platform," he added. "These changes, together with additional lending capacity from our new $300 million credit fund and $200 million institutional term debt financing, position us to continue expanding our client base, while also increasing our commitment to existing clients in this important market segment," he concluded.

Mr. McAuliffe has been with NewStar since 2005 and Co-head of its Leveraged Finance division since 2012. Prior to joining NewStar Financial in 2005, McAuliffe was a Regional Executive at Bank of America responsible for a $2 billion portfolio consisting of 1,500 Middle Market customers throughout the Metro New York region. Prior to its sale to Bank of America, Mr. McAuliffe spent 20 years at FleetBoston Financial, serving most recently as President of Fleet's metro New York region. Prior to that he was Executive Credit Officer for Fleet's middle market commercial lending business and was Group Executive for several national specialized lending groups including Oil & Gas, Transportation/Auto, Specialty Finance, Sports Finance, Utilities, and Environmental Services.

Mr. Herr joins NewStar as a managing director from The Carlyle Group where he was a Principal in the GMS Finance group. Prior to joining Carlyle, he was a Managing Director and founding member of Churchill Financial. Previous to that, Mr. Herr was with GE Antares (a division of GE Capital) where he was Managing Director and a senior banker. Mr. Herr also served as SVP and Team Leader in Risk Management for GE Commercial Finance. He has more than 20 years of experience in leveraged finance and sponsor coverage including positions at Transamerica and Chrysler Capital.

Mr. Colucci joins NewStar as a managing director from Balance Point Capital Partners where he was a Partner managing a middle market mezzanine fund.   Prior to that, he was Managing Director and founding member of Patriot Capital Funding, a publicly traded business development company, where he was member of the firm's investment committee and led a six-person investment team. He has more than 16 years of leveraged finance experience including positions at GE Capital and BayernLB.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this business for NewStar and I am excited about our opportunity in the marketplace with this team," said Pat McAuliffe, Head of Leveraged Finance. "Opening a New York office and adding three respected bankers like Eric Herr, Matt Colucci and Wes Frangul clearly reinforce our commitment to expand in this attractive market segment. Although we are well established in these markets, we continue to emphasize the quality of our sponsor coverage as we enter the next phase of our development," he added.

About NewStar Financial, Inc.:

NewStar Financial (Nasdaq:NEWS) is a specialized commercial finance company focused on meeting the complex financing needs of companies and private investors in the middle market. The Company specializes in providing senior secured debt financing options to mid-sized companies to fund working capital, growth strategies, acquisition and recapitalization, as well as, equipment purchases. NewStar originates loans and leases directly through a team of experienced, senior bankers and marketing officers organized around key industry and market segments. The Company targets 'hold' positions of up to $35 million and selectively underwrites or arranges larger transactions for syndication to other lenders.

NewStar is headquartered in Boston MA and has regional offices in Darien CT, Atlanta GA, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, Los Angeles CA, Philadelphia, PA, San Francisco CA, and Portland OR. For more detailed information, please visit our website at www.newstarfin.com.