After forming on April 1, 2020, with industry veterans Steve Kennedy and Kass Matt at the helm, VIUM Capital has announced an impressive inaugural year of closings. Across 25 transactions involving 63 separate properties in 17 states, the firm secured more than $750 million in par volume loans. That included HUD deals, bridge loans and tax-exempt bond financings. Starting a company on April Fools’ Day in the tumultuous year of 2020 may have been a bad omen, but this transaction volume may suggest otherwise.
It helps that Messrs. Kennedy and Matt have many years and many long-standing clients in the industry, which was key to getting transactions completed in the hectic year. VIUM’s Midwestern banking partner also provided the backing and flexibility to offer their clients a suite of capital services, and helped close the significant total of bridge loans. The team at VIUM has grown to about 15 employees (spread throughout the country, thanks to COVID), and they are still growing. So, they must have big plans for Year Two.
Of the bridge loans, there were a few transactions that stood out, including an $82 million loan funding the acquisition of five skilled nursing facilities in the Southeast. Coming in at 80% loan-to-value, the loan featured a 36-month term and an earn-out structure. For another SNF portfolio, this time including four facilities in Texas, VIUM secured a $59 million loan at 80% loan to value with an 18-month term. The purpose of the deal was to pay off high interest rate debt and a swap. VIUM also submitted the HUD application within 45 days of closing the bridge debt.
One HUD highlight was a $7 million (a)7 loan structured for a 94-unit assisted living community in Illinois. Around two-thirds of the residents were under Medicaid waivers, with the rest being private pay. After the transaction, which features an interest rate below 3% and 35-year term, the borrower was able to decrease its annual debt service and reformulate its replacement reserve requirements.
VIUM also served as municipal advisor on a $17 million tax-exempt bond issuance for a 125-bed acute care hospital in Illinois. Placed with a regional bank, the bonds will help the hospital to expand and undergo a substantial renovation. The borrower was also able to preserve its existing tax-exempt bond structure while having the opportunity for future potential USDA CF funding.
