Bedminster, New Jersey, March 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: PGC) and Peapack-Gladstone Bank announce the strategic decision to expand the Bank’s corporate advisory and structured finance business under a new Investment Banking division. Eric H. Waser will lead this new group as Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Banking, effective immediately.
Over the past year, the corporate advisory group at Peapack-Gladstone Bank has demonstrated significant forward momentum and has become an integral component of the Bank’s future. This business, along with the Bank’s leveraged lending/structured finance business, enables the Bank and its wealth division, Peapack Private, to truly play the role of trusted advisor to privately owned middle-market companies, and is better suited as a stand-alone division designated as Investment Banking, which allows for a more concentrated effort.
As the head of Investment Banking, Eric, former Head of Commercial Banking at Peapack-Gladstone Bank, will now lead the Company’s focus on providing independent, unbiased and objective advice to middle-market companies and their owners. This includes merger and acquisition advisory support, evaluation and assistance with accessing alternative capital markets, evaluation of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, and customized structured finance based on asset-based and/or enterprise value.
“The opportunity to specifically focus our energy on the Investment Banking business is exciting,” commented Waser. He continued, “We’ve grown the team over the past year and feel this is the right time to connect the dots with our wealth brand, Peapack Private, and leverage this already successful business line to our high-end entrepreneurs and business owners.”
Kevin J. Bodnar, Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Advisory, and Patrick R. Brocker, Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance, will lead this division with Eric, within their specialized areas, in complement to other disciplines within the Bank and Peapack Private. The team will formally assist with evaluating strategic alternatives for clients, assess debt capacity and appropriateness of debt and equity solutions, and evaluate alternatives to improve alignment of family and business objectives.
Bodnar is a seasoned financial executive with a proven track record in investment banking, private equity and commercial banking, with expertise in business development, strategic and financial advisory, transaction structuring, and executing mergers and acquisitions. He has executed over 75 middle-market transactions over the past 15 years across a variety of industries. He is Series 7, 63, 79 and 99 NASD licensed.
Brocker, a Peapack-Gladstone Bank employee since 2015, is responsible for on balance sheet cash flow, and asset-based and hybrid lending solutions for corporate and private equity sponsor transactions at the Bank. These include leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, dividend recapitalizations and bridge loans. He has more than 30 years of structuring creative financial solutions to help maximize the growth in enterprise value of corporate and private equity clients across all industries in the middle-market.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation is a New Jersey bank holding company with total assets of $4.62 billion and assets under management and/or administration of $5.8 billion as of December 31, 2018. Founded in 1921, Peapack-Gladstone Bank is a commercial bank that provides innovative wealth management, commercial and retail solutions, including residential lending and online platforms, to businesses and consumers. Peapack Private, the bank’s wealth management division, offers comprehensive financial, tax, fiduciary and investment advice and solutions, to individuals, families, privately-held businesses, family offices and not-for-profit organizations, which help them to establish, maintain and expand their legacy. Together, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Peapack Private offer an unparalleled commitment to client service. Visit www.pgbank.com andwww.peapackprivate.com for more information.
Contact: Denise M. Pace-Sanders, Senior Vice President Brand and Marketing Director, dpace@pgbank.com, 908.470.3322, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, 500 Hills Drive, Suite 300, Bedminster, NJ 07921.
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