Abacus Finance Group, LLC (Abacus), a New York-based direct lending company that provides cash-flow senior financing for private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies, announced that it served as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for $22 million in senior secured credit facilities to support the leveraged buyout of GAHH, LLC by River Associates Investments, LP. 

Headquartered in North Hollywood, CA and founded in 1979, GAHH is a manufacturer of automotive aftermarket convertible tops, Jeep tops, and vehicle interiors with a 65% market share in the United States. River Associates is a private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, that focuses exclusively on investing in the lower-middle market and has partnered closely with management teams for over 28 years.

“We chose once again to partner with the Abacus team because of their expertise in financing companies in niche industry sectors and their ability to assure certainty of close early on,” said Mike Brookshire, Co-Managing Partner of River Associates. "Working with Abacus, the transaction process is quick and streamlined from due diligence to close,” added River Associates Vice President Blake Lewis. “They make it look easy, and they are simply great to work with.”

“Over the years River Associates has been terrific to work with and have proved to be a great fit for us given their investment strategy and lower-middle market focus,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus Finance. “Their due diligence preparation,” added Abacus Senior Vice President Eric Petersen, “was very thorough, and their team meshed smoothly with ours. As in other transactions, the critical success factors came down to our flexibility and our ability to provide certainty of close – both important aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach™.”

Abacus team members involved in the transaction included Eric Petersen & Rafal Rydzewski. Legal counsel was provided to Abacus by Goulston & Storrs, PC.