SG Shutters Sports Lending Practice, Impacting Lightning, Hornets

Paris-based investment banking firm Societe Generale (SG) has "shut down its U.S. sports lending business," and Managing Dir Randy Campbell is "resigning after 6 1/2 years with the bank," according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. SG was close to lending $100-110M to a group led by movie producer Oren Koules to purchase the Lightning, a loan sources now say the consortium is "trying to replace." SG is, however, standing by a $47M loan to the "financially strapped" Hornets, but will "sell off pieces of loans to minimize risk exposure," through a process called syndication. One banker, who participated in the syndication meeting but chose to remain anonymous, said of the Hornets' loan, "I would be shocked if that deal got done. ... How can you expect banks to commit to a credit facility led by an agent that is no longer in the business?" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/4 issue).