Riverstone Holdings LLC, a leading energy and power-focused private equity firm, announced it has hired a highly experienced team of energy-focused leveraged finance professionals who will spearhead the firm's expansion into credit and capital markets activities. The team is comprised of Christopher Abbate, Jamie Brodsky, and Daniel Flannery.  

Abbate, who joins Riverstone as a Managing Director and will lead the new team, has spent his entire 17-year career financing energy companies, mainly in the leveraged capital markets. Prior to joining Riverstone, Abbate was a Managing Director and head of energy leveraged finance at Citigroup. Brodsky joins Riverstone as a Managing Director and Flannery joins as a Vice President; both had previously worked at Nomura Securities International ("Nomura"). Prior to their respective roles at Citigroup and Nomura, Messrs. Abbate, Brodsky and Flannery worked together on the energy leveraged finance team at UBS Investment Bank ("UBS"), where Abbate was also head of Leveraged Finance Origination. 

David M. Leuschen and Pierre F. Lapeyre, Jr., Co-Founders of Riverstone, said, "We are very pleased that Chris, Jamie, and Dan have agreed to join us. Having worked with them at their respective firms on many of our past debt financings, including for Fieldwood Energy, Gibson Energy and EP Energy, we believe that we have put together a group with extensive credit structuring expertise, broad deal sourcing capabilities, strong energy industry competence and tremendous chemistry. The team will not only broaden Riverstone's focus to include investments in energy and power-related credit investments, but will also complement the activities of our buyout professionals, helping to further maximize value in our existing and future portfolio companies."

Based in Riverstone's New York office, the team is exploring opportunities to make credit investments from the Riverstone platform as well as advise Riverstone portfolio companies and select third-party clients on capital structure optimization and access to the capital markets.

Abbate said, "Riverstone is one of the most respected private equity firms in the energy and power industry. We are delighted to be joining such a talented team to help build a new credit business, while advising Riverstone portfolio companies and other external clients on capital markets strategies."

Riverstone is an energy and power-focused private investment firm founded in 2000 by David M. Leuschen and Pierre F. Lapeyre, Jr. with approximately $27 billion of equity capital raised.