New York Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYMT) has closed its investment of up to $750,000 in senior secured notes issued by New Bridger Holdings LLC, the parent company of Bridger Commercial Funding LLC.
Bridger Commercial Funding is a 12-year-old firm specializing in originating and funding commercial mortgages, primarily through a nationwide network of commercial banks. It includes its loans in larger securitization pools, resulting in the issuance of both investment- and non-investment-grade commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).
As part of the transaction, NYMT also received warrants to acquire Class C Units equal to up to 25% of the fully diluted equity interests of New Bridger Holdings. NYMT also has an option to purchase an additional 23% of the fully diluted equity interests of New Bridger Holdings.
In connection with the NYMT's investment in the Bridger notes, NYMT and Bridger Commercial Funding have entered into a mortgage loan origination program agreement pursuant to which Bridger agrees to use its commercially reasonable best efforts to cause ‘B-pieces’ that are part of a securitized pool of commercial mortgage loans originated, at least in part, by Bridger to be offered to NYMT for purchase on terms similar to those offered to other third parties.
‘We expect this transaction, which further diversifies our investment portfolio, will provide us with favorable access to commercial mortgage loan assets that will generate attractive returns, while also providing us with the ability to capture the upside of the recovery of the commercial mortgage loan industry,’ says NYMT CEO Steven R. Mumma.
SOURCE: New York Mortgage Trust
