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CO VER S T OR Y Guide to the Top 20 Finance Companies COMPANY NO. OF CLIENTS PORTFOLIO SIZE LARGE REGIONAL & SPECIALTY BANKS COMERICA BANK FIRST REPUBLIC 150 RABOBANK SILICON VALLEY BANK (SVB) WINE DIVISION 120 More than 300 UMPQUA BANK 75 UNION BANK 18 $1.1 billion More than $500 million $250 million $232 million MIN / MAX PRODUCTS OFFERED $300 million* $1 million / $50 million $1 million / $30 million $1 million / $100 million $1 million / $50 million $1 million / $25 million / $1 million / $60 million NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL (BIG) BANKS BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH BANK OF THE WEST US BANK WELLS FARGO More than $1 billion Life insurance companies: While banks of various forms are suitable for short- term lines of capital and fixed-rate loans over five to 15-year terms, longer term debt is available. Insurance companies are constantly seeking long-term loans to earn income on the long-term deposits they maintain from their premium collections. Insur- ance companies need steady income to pay claims, but they also need reliability, so they tend to focus on larger loans and "investment-grade" borrowers, meaning they are not a fit for all borrowers. While insurance companies used to have large staffs, consistent downsizing and concentration have brought their 34 WINES & VINES SEPTEMBER 2012 275 $800 million $100,000 / $30 million $1 million / Unlimited Working capital lines, real estate loans for vineyards and wineries, equipment term loans, acquisition finance and leases* Working capital, construction, acquisi- tions/development and equipment Working capital; term debt for property; crop lines; equipment loans and leasing; acquisition financing, treasury manage- ment, international and private banking Equipment and capital financing, invest- ment banking, treasury management back-office operations down to a mini- mum. Their locations tend to be remote from the key wine regions, so they are best utilized by sophisticated borrowers that don't need a lot of assistance. "We're focused on larger credits and more established companies," says Wil- liam Beyer of Prudential. "Our range is from a few million to a few hundred mil- lion, and our average deal size is about $7 million to $8 million." For borrowers with exceptional (read "in- vestment-grade") credit, large life insurance companies can be a source of long-term loans. "We price our money on the credit quality of the deal. Our profile is typically someone that's been in the business, maybe David Meddaugh at (707) 293-2553 or david.meddaugh@baml.com Adam Beak at (707) 501-5136 or adam.beak@bankofthewest.com John Flinn at (916) 718-6253 or john.flinn@usbank.com; Mike Edwards at (916) 718-6253 or john.flinn@usbank.com Perry DeLuca at (707) 584-3192 or perry.f.deluca@wellsfargo.com second gen, with a high-end brand that owns vineyards and is profitable," Beyer says. "If they're not profitable, we don't typically make those types of loans." Mezzanine lender: Finally, for those who already have utilized or exhausted tradi- tional "first-lien" financial vehicles, there is a new tier of lenders known as second-lien or mezzanine lenders, which can provide capital behind the existing debt-security structure. Bacchus Capital appears to stand alone as a dedicated alternative finance firm, although it also does equity investing and other forms of winery and wine finance. "Mezzanine and second-lien loans are well established in virtually every other Inventory, equipment, real estate, construction and treasury management Working capital lines of credit, equipment loans, wine and vineyard real estate loans Revolving credit, equipment and real estate financing, development Inventory, equipment, real estate, construction and vineyard development loans AR financing, lines of credit, leases and loans for equipment and real estate; term loans and vineyard development loans Revolving credit lines, term debt, real estate, development and acquisition finance CONTACT Michael A. Silva at (415) 477-3274 or masilva@comerica.com; Chris Thomson at (916) 491-1304 or cthomson@comerica.com Dan Smith at (707) 967-1502 or dansmith@firstrepublic.com; Corey Dahline at (707) 967-1501 or cdahline@firstrepublic.com Charles Day at (707) 545-6887 or charles.day@rabobank.com William Stevens at (707) 967-1373 or wstevens@svb.com; Rob McMillan at (707) 967-1367 or rmcmillan@svb.com Mark Brody at (707) 252-5020 or markbrody@umpquabank.com James Barrett at (707) 968-9514 or james.barrett@unionbank.com; Joellen Ademski at (925) 947-2409 or joellen.ademski@unionbank.com WINE INDUS TR Y FINANCE