Industry Q&A – Marc Cooper & Vinod Chandiramani Discuss Capital Advisory & Expanding Solomon’s Capital Raising Reach

Industry Q&A: Capital Advisory and Expanding Solomon’s Capital Raising Reach

by CEO Marc S. Cooper

Vinod Chandiramani joined Solomon Partners earlier this month as a Partner and Head of the firm’s Capital Advisory group. We discussed how he will leverage his expertise in nontraditional financing and capital structure solutions to expand the services Solomon provides to clients.

Vinod, welcome to Solomon Partners. Can you tell us about your role at the firm and how you will be helping the clients Solomon serves? How does your expertise expand our client base?

Thank you, Marc. As Head of Capital Advisory, my primary focus will be on capital solutions for companies undergoing transitions. Capital solutions, broadly defined, are transactions that enhance liquidity and funding to achieve strategic objectives for companies that the syndicated capital markets are not the optimal capital source. Our team will be involved with all efforts with respect to capital raising and capital structures across the firm, regardless of where the opportunity falls on the risk spectrum.

For our current clients, we will continue to explore bespoke solutions that go beyond traditional approaches. These tailored, thoughtful solutions could lead to better outcomes for our clients and should be considered.

For prospective clients, we will collaborate closely with our best-in-class sector experts and leverage Solomon’s relationships to ensure these bespoke solutions reach the right audiences.

Additionally, we plan to expand our client base to include investors, such as fixed income asset managers and sponsors, who may be dealing with stressed or distressed issuers. Introducing these investors to Solomon’s top sector partners will be crucial for market penetration.

What sets your approach apart from others in the industry?

Before discussing our approach, I would like to clarify two points:

First, the market often equates “transition” with financial distress. While we do work with distressed companies, our focus is far broader. The evolving private markets offer significant opportunities for advisors to drive differentiated outcomes.

Second, the likelihood of developing unique solutions increases when advisors can demonstrate to capital providers that a company is “misunderstood.” Partnering with our sector experts is crucial for validating and crafting this narrative, reducing execution risk and developing implementable solutions.

We are problem solvers addressing two primary puzzles. The first is the development and funding requirements for a company’s business plan. The second is structuring the composition of that funding. By mastering the first, we can effectively recommend fully-informed pathways for the second.

With respect to approach, developing solutions involves aligning the capital pools with the strategic goals of the underlying company and sponsor. To do that, an advisor needs to spend the time to truly understand a business, its capital requirements, and the timing of those requirements to structure a tailored solution. From there, the advisor must determine how to frame and structure the components of capital in a manner that best aligns with the company’s story to develop a win-win.

My experience working with diverse asset and stakeholder classes has given me a comprehensive, 360^o perspective, enabling me to understand and navigate different pools of capital effectively.

How do you plan to expand your group and serve new clients?

We will be thoughtful and measured in the growth pace for our team. It is crucial to maintain the fantastic culture Solomon has developed over the past three and a half decades while offering new hires a compelling career opportunity.

The Capital Advisory group’s expansion comes at an exciting time in the firm’s evolution. With recent expansions into additional sectors and the current scale of our platform, the group is well-positioned to deepen relationships with existing clients and broaden our client base.

In partnership with our sector experts, we plan to attract new clients by discussing thoughtful capital solutions with companies our bankers have access to, in addition to expanding our product offerings to different client categories, such as creditors.

Can you elaborate on the importance of industry content and expertise?

Industry content refers to strategic advisors who deeply understand the client’s business, can provide valuable insights, and have access to relevant audiences or decision makers within their ecosystem. This is invaluable, as it does not matter how great of an idea a banker has. If they cannot deliver the message to the right audience, that idea will likely go nowhere. Where we will elect to play, Solomon will have access.

Additionally, I am truly excited to raise awareness of Solomon’s deep sector expertise in other markets such as the syndicated leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. Sector expertise has become increasingly relevant with respect to capital structure advisory work in those markets over the past four to five years. For these investors, our perspectives on the sector state of play, strategic landscape, and investor universe will be invaluable to increasing the number of mandates the Capital Advisory team will be considered for.

How do you plan to position Solomon Partners in the market?

We will be true partners to our clients and will always put their needs first. We will emphasize our solution-oriented approach and ability to “unpack” complex situations through strategic recommendations that are informed by detailed due diligence and a culture of testing conventional thinking. Our vision will be to advise on all capital structure-related matters for our clients with a focus on raising capital at attractive relative costs, increasing optionality, and creating value. And we will be a fun team to work with.

Thank you, Vinod. We are excited to have you on board and look forward to the growth and success you will bring to Solomon Partners.

Thank you, Marc. I am thrilled to be part of this dynamic team and look forward to contributing to our continued success.