Channel Partners LLC announced today a new, broad-based funding partnership with Chicago-based Monroe Capital LLC. Under the terms of the deal, affiliate Channel Partners Capital secured a minority equity investment from Monroe and closed a new three-year $50 million credit facility with certain Monroe affiliated investment funds. Monroe is a leading fund manager and institutional investor with approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management. Monroe provides senior and junior debt and equity co-investments to both public and privately held middle market companies throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Channel Partners established Channel Partners Capital in 2011 to hold working capital loans with terms of up to 24 months to a wide range of U. S. based small businesses with revenues typically ranging from $200,000 to $10 million.

"Monroe is a highly knowledgeable financial partner with substantial capital resources and deep relationships in the banking and asset management industries," said Brad Peterson, CEO of Channel Partners Capital. "We are very pleased to partner with them as we look to drive our focused loan origination strategy and grow our on-balance sheet funding activity."

"This transaction significantly expands Channel Partners Capital's lending capacity and positions the firm to deploy substantial amounts of capital to the large, diverse and underserved small business market," said Monroe Capital's CEO Ted Koenig. "Our partnership is a direct result of Channel Partners' successful track record, since 2009, of originating high quality working capital loans through its many relationships within the large and active equipment leasing and finance industry."

With the addition of the Monroe Capital investment, Channel Partners Capital is well positioned, through its leasing industry partners, to materially affect small business credit access nationwide. "Access to capital continues to be a major challenge for small businesses looking to expand," said Peterson. "We are attacking this issue every day by reaching out to the market and letting our partners and borrowers know we are here for them. With this added funding capacity, we can provide solutions to an expanded number of qualified borrowers."

"Monroe's investment further confirms the depth of borrower demand for Channel's loan products and the growing attractiveness of the assets originated from an institutional investor perspective," said Bryan Mitchell, who served as financial advisor to Channel Partners on the transaction.

"We are pleased to have completed this financing for Channel Partners Capital, an industry leader in providing working capital through the small ticket equipment leasing infrastructure," said Aaron Peck, Managing Director at Monroe Capital. "We look forward to supporting the company's senior management team in its plans for ongoing success."

Channel Partners has been recognized as one of Inc. Magazine's fastest growing privately held companies in the United States for 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Channel is a leading provider of small business working capital loans. Channel utilizes customized technology and business processes applied to data and risk modeling to support rapid credit decision making and electronic payment technology to efficiently service working capital loans to small business customers. Channel delivers loans exclusively through partnerships with equipment leasing and finance companies. Through these equipment finance partnerships, Channel is able to identify and acquire pre-screened quality small business customers in need of working capital. Since's founding in 2009, Channel has originated over 3,000 loans generating loan receivables of over $150 million exclusively through these partnerships. Channel was honored in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as one of Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing privately held companies and is one of a limited number of full service non-bank small business fin-tech lenders making successful efforts to fill the large and growing gap in small business credit availability, estimated at over $100 billion.

Monroe Capital LLC is a leading provider of senior and junior debt and equity co-investments to middle-market companies in the U.S. and Canada. Investment types include unitranche financings, cash flow and enterprise value based loans, acquisition facilities, mezzanine debt, second lien or last-out loans and equity co-investments.