Stonebridge is pleased to announce that Mariya Maksymova has joined the portfolio administration team as a Credit Analyst- Relationship Officer.

Mariya brings to Stonebridge several years of commercial lending experience with the Business Development Bank of Canada.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

In joining Stonebridge Mariya will complement an existing team of financial professionals and will be a valuable resource in  our continued effort to provide high quality and trusted portfolio administrative services.

Stonebridge Financial Corporation (“Stonebridge”) is pleased to announce that it has transitioned its lease securitization operations into a newly incorporated affiliated company, Stonebridge Lease Financing Corporation (“SLFC”) located in Oakville, Ontario.

While Stonebridge Financial Corporation will continue to provide highly specialized financial solutions in Project Finance, Structured Finance and Financial Agency services,  Stonebridge Lease Financing Corporation will focus on providing a private securitization solution for the funding and administering of asset-backed lease portfolios.

“Over the years Stonebridge has evolved into 2 distinct business segments and we recognized that creating two separate and strategically focused companies would allow each business to maximize its growth and success.” said Robert Colliver, Partner & Co-CEO of Stonebridge.

“While we’ll continue to share and benefit from an integrated operational relationship with Stonebridge, this opportunity allows SLFC to pursue a tailored strategic plan that will position us to succeed while continuing to deliver exceptional service to our clients” stated John Estey, President of Stonebridge Lease Financing Corporation.

For our clients and institutional investors, the transitioning of the lease financing operations will be virtually seamless. Both Stonebridge and SLFC are committed to our shared core value of delivering high quality service to our clients and institutional investors – service that will continue to be  provided by the same trusted team of financial professionals they have come to know.

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Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund I LP (“SIDF”) is pleased to announce it’s $17.5 million participation in a $72 million 40 year construction and term project financing for the Northwest Stave River run-of-river hydroelectric project located in British Columbia. The 17.5 MW hydroelectric project is located on Crown land, approximately 35 km north of Mission, British Columbia. Construction began in 2011 and commercial operation is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013. Northwest Stave’s average annual production is estimated to reach 61,900 MWh, enough to power approximately 6,000 BC households.

Financing has been arranged by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. as agent and lead lender.

Owership of the project is through Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (“Innergex”), a leading Canadian independent renewable power producer. Active since 1990, the Company develops, owns, and operates run-of-river hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, and solar photovoltaic farms and carries out its operations in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Idaho, USA.

Michel Letellier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innergex commented “We are very satisfied with the terms of this financing agreement, which provides for fixed-rate debt at a very attractive rate, with a term corresponding to the duration of the power purchase agreement for this project. This agreement confirms the Corporation’s ability to secure appropriate project financing, and serves as a reminder of its sound business model based on developing high-quality assets that generate stable and predictable cash flows over the long term, minimizing risks, and maximizing its competitive position in the renewable energy space, in order to create value for its shareholders.”

Louis Bélanger, Managing Director, SIDF added “We are delighted to be in a position to fund this project which will contribute to the overall expansion of Innergex as a competitive renewable power provider. Furthermore, it will generate high quality cash flows to the Fund’s limited partners”.

The Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund I LP is a closed-end fund, developed with the support of PPP Canada Inc. with capital commitments for the Fund in excess of $200 million being provided by the Business Development Bank of Canada (“BDC”) and a group of Canadian pension funds.

Louis Bélanger, Managing Director, Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund, will be participating as a guest speaker at the Solar Ontario 2013 Conference and Trade Show  taking place in Niagara Falls, Ontario on May 29^th and 30^th, 2013. Louis will be speak at the “Evolving Finance Market Conditions & Innovative Financial Mechanism- Global + Ontario Views” Policy and Market stream session taking place from 3:15PM to 4:30M on Thursday May 30, 2013.

 The Canadian Solar Industries Association’s ( CanSIA) Solar Ontario 2013 Conference and Trade Show is Ontario’s largest and most influential industry event and brings together key players in the solar industry to share knowledge, experience and new advancements in the regions’ solar energy policy, markets and industry capacity.

Louis Bélanger, Managing Director, Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund , will be a a session speaker at the 2013 Benefits and Pension Summit taking place at the Marriott Eaton Centre, Toronto, ON on April 29-30, 2013. Louis will participate in a panel session discussion titled Private Equity or Private Debt: Are They Right for Your Plan?, that will provide pension fund managers with insight in to the benefits of, and areas for consideration when selecting  this asset class for their pension portfolio.

Stonebridge Financial Corporation (“Stonebridge”) is very pleased to announce the launch of Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund II L.P. (“Fund II”), a limited partnership to be formed under the laws of the Province of Ontario. Investors will be limited partners of the Partnership.

Stonebridge currently manages Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund I L.P. (“Fund I”), a closed-end infrastructure debt fund developed with the support of PPP Canada Inc. Fund I’s investment objective is to provide private debt financing for the construction and operation of social infrastructure and energy assets. Fund I closed in 2012 with capital commitments totalling $201,468,750. Investors include the Business Development Bank of Canada, Teamsters Canadian Pension Plan and six other Canadian pension funds.

Similar to Fund I, Fund II will invest in fixed rate, senior construction and/or take-out debt financings on a private placement basis, with a minimum external or internal credit of BBB, incurred and applied for the purpose of the construction, operation, ownership or maintenance of infrastructure assets that are, generally, (i) essential in nature to local communities or regional or national populations, and (ii) are expected to generate relatively stable and predictable cash flows over the long term which assets include, but are not limited to:

(a)     Social infrastructure: which includes, among other things, hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, universities, correctional facilities, courthouses, subsidized housing, community centres, recreational facilities, roads, bridges, airports, mass transit and water and waste management systems, and;

(b)    Energy infrastructure: which includes, among other things, public or private producers of non-merchant based energy, pipelines, transmission and distribution lines.

The size of Fund II is expected to be in excess of $300,000,000 with an initial closing scheduled for December 2013. A subsequent closing will occur within 12 months of the initial closing to accommodate additional interested investors.

Stonebridge is excited to be launching Fund II, an investment fund offering unlike any other in Canada, providing high quality investment cash flow and returns ideally suited for long-term, liability-driven investors. Given the current volatility in the equity markets and interest rates that remain at historical lows, Stonebridge believes that private infrastructure debt is an ideal asset class providing institutional investors with incremental yield, portfolio diversification, credit enhancement and liability matching characteristics not otherwise available in the public fixed income market.

Stonebridge is an independent financial services company with proven expertise in arranging and structuring debt financings for syndication in the Canadian institutional marketplace, with a focus on the energy and social infrastructure sectors. Stonebridge was founded in 1998 with the support of three major Canadian life insurance companies, with a view to establishing a reliable origination vehicle for high quality private debt investment opportunities and portfolio administrative services. Today, those institutions remain as minority preferred shareholders of Stonebridge and continue to be key loan syndication relationships.

Denis Bourassa, Partner & Co-CEO of Stonebridge Financial Corporation, will be a session panel member at the 2013 Canadian Wind Energy Association (“CANWEA”) Western Forum taking place in Vancouver, BC on April 11-12, 2013. Denis will take part in an expert panel discussion on Project Financing that will explore the evolution of attitudes in the financial sector towards wind energy and the unique challenges surrounding the financing of wind energy projects in different jurisdictions in Western Canada.

Stonebridge is pleased to announce that Saad Inam has joined Stonebridge  as Manager, Lease Financing. In his role Saad will  be responsible for underwriting bulk lease financing transactions, offering memorandums and conducting annual reviews on the Bulk Lease Financing portfolio.

Saad brings over 10 years of knowledge and experience in retail and commercial financing attained through several progressive positions at various Schedule 1 Canadian banks.

He holds a Bachelors of Commerce from University of Toronto accompanied by an MBA from Schulich School of Business at York University.

In joining Stonebridge, Saad will complement a Lease Financing team with a recognized reputation of providing high quality and trusted lease financing and lease administrative services.   

TORONTO, February 11, 2013- Stonebridge Financial Corporation is please to announce that Niamh O’Byrne has joined as a Credit Analyst, Portfolio Administration.

Niamh joins Stonebridge with over 6 years of international credit experience acquired working at several financial institutions, including Allied Irish Bank and Anglo Irish Bank.

In joining Stonebridge and the Portfolio Administration group, Niamh will complement an already strong administration team and will be a valued resource in our continuing effort to provide high quality and trusted administrative services.

TORONTO, December 19, 2012- Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund I Limited Partnership (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce it has provided long-term financing totaling $8,690,211 to Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (“Waterfront Toronto”) through the purchase of the base rent payments for the first 20 years of the 99-year ground lease between George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology (the “College”) and the City of Toronto on their new waterfront campus located at 51 Dockside Drive, Toronto. The transaction was arranged by Creva Realty Inc.

The City of Toronto assigned the base rent payments for the first 20 years of the ground lease to Waterfront Toronto. The proceeds of the sale will be used by Waterfront Toronto in the revitalization of the Toronto waterfront.

Louis Bélanger, Managing Director, Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund stated “We are pleased to be the financing partner for Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto on this transaction, which is uniquely suited to the investment objectives of the Fund to invest in long-term Canadian infrastructure projects. Moreover the Fund is delighted to play a role in the continued redevelopment of the Toronto waterfront”.

The Fund is managed by Stonebridge Financial Corporation, a financial services company offering customized financial solutions to the Canadian market.