Babson Capital Expands Mezzanine & Private Equity Group With Addition of Vik Thadani to West Coast Operations

Springfield -- 11/17/2011 -- Babson Capital Management LLC ("Babson Capital"), an investment management firm based in Boston and Springfield, Mass., and Charlotte, N.C., announced today it has hired Vik Thadani as a Managing Director in its Mezzanine & Private Equity Group (MPEG).

The addition of Mr. Thadani, who will be based in the group’s West Coast office in Los Angeles, increases the Mezzanine & Private Equity Group to 19. Mr. Thadani will assist with the continued growth of the firm’s Asia-Pacific strategy and provide operational and transactional support to investment professionals in Sydney and Hong Kong. He will also supplement the sponsor coverage efforts for  the group’s new deal sourcing, due diligence, execution and portfolio management activities within the U.S., especially in the western region of the country.

“We are pleased to welcome Vik as his experience and expertise are valuable assets to our growing global capabilities,” said Michael Hermsen, a Managing Director in Babson Capital’s Mezzanine & Private Equity Group. “Vik’s addition to the team truly reflects the continuing growth of our mezzanine debt financing and private equity investment activity here in the U.S. as well as the Asia-Pacific region.”  

Mr. Thadani's previous experience includes roles within the Equity Sponsor Finance group at Union Bank of California, the Leveraged Finance group at CIBC World Markets, and the Middle Market Loan Syndications group at Bank of America.  Additionally, he spent two years as the Chief Financial Officer of an education technology start-up firm that was ultimately sold to a large strategic buyer.  Mr. Thadani has an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Mr. Thadani joins a team that was formed in 1992 and now manages $4.3 billion on behalf of clients. The Mezzanine & Private Equity Group’s clients include Tower Square Capital Partners III, L.P., a $1.6 billion mezzanine and private equity fund closed by Babson Capital in December 2008, Tower Square Capital Partners II, L.P., a $1 billion fund closed in February 2006, and Tower Square I, a $265 million fund closed in October 2003. It also invests on behalf of Babson Capital’s parent, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual). MassMutual itself has been active in mezzanine and private equity investing since the 1960s. The group is led by a trio of managing directors: Mr. Hermsen, Michael Klofas and Richard Spencer.

About Babson Capital Management LLC
Babson Capital Management LLC and its subsidiaries serve institutional investors around the globe and have $137.3 billion in assets under management as of September, 30 2011.  Through proprietary research and analysis and a focus on investment fundamentals, we develop products and strategies that leverage our broad array of expertise in fixed income, equities, alternative, structured products, debt financing for corporations and debt and equity financing for commercial real estate. Based in Boston and Springfield, Mass., and Charlotte, N.C., with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, the firm’s subsidiaries include Babson Capital Europe Limited in London, Babson Capital Australia Pty Ltd in Sydney, Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC in Hartford, Conn. and Wood Creek Capital Management in New Haven, Conn. Babson Capital is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group.