Prime Commercial Lending & Kris Roglieri, Founder and President, were featured in the The Business Review this week discussing Prime’s $5 Million financing deal with Ajax, a central New York Energy Services firm. The full article is below:

 

Albany lender expands into the fracking business

By Barbara Pinckney Reporter- The Business Review Date: Aug 15, 2013, 6:56am EDT

A $5 million financing deal for a central New York energy services firm has given Albany-based Prime Commercial Lending entry into the $80 billion fracking industry.

And that might lead to an office in Texas, said Kris Roglieri, founder and president of the 20-year-old alternative finance company. This would be Prime’s third office. It employs 16 people in Albany and nine in the Atlanta suburb of Marrieta, Ga.

Prime Commercial does asset-based lending and accounts-receivable financing for businesses that need alternatives to bank loans. The $5 million deal completed this week was with Ajax Cos. of Homer, Cortland County. The company serves the energy industry, including companies involved in fracking, a method of extracting natural gas that is banned in New York.

“They are less than three years old, and in an extreme growth phase right now,” Roglieri said of Ajax. “They needed growth capital.”

Roglieri said the deal also means growth for Prime Commercial. The fracking industry is small, and tight-knit. Once Prime Commercial had provided financing for Ajax, Ajax told others.

“It spread,” Roglieri said. “So now, we are being introduced to other companies. It gave us good entry into that business.”

He said fracking and energy services companies often turn to asset-based lending because they are equipment-intensive and can use that equipment as collateral. Many are also relatively new companies without the track records traditional lenders look for. He said Prime has heard from companies in Texas, Pennsylvania and other states in which it is not currently doing business.

Roglieri was already expanding his business, as rising interest rates triggered an interest in alternative lending vehicles. He has hired three business development people since the start of the year, and expects to add three more by the end of 2013.