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RiviereJenison gets rolling with third ABS mandate

RiviereJenison Securities, a nationwide brokerage and investment banking firm specializing in structured finance, recently placed a $46 million lease receivables ABS in the private Rule 144A market for Des Moines, Iowa-based equipment finance company Frontier Leasing Corporation.

The deal was structured as a senior/subordinated transaction, according to the firm's press release. The senior bonds were rated Baa2' and the subordinate bonds were rated Ba2,' according to Paul Jenison, co-founder of RevierJenison and head of the New York-based office. The deal is comprised of 2.2-year average life notes and priced with an undisclosed yield.

It was Frontier's first lease ABS since it priced $48.2 million of series 2002-1 paper nearly two years ago via WestLB.

The lease receivables transaction is the third for RiviereJenison. Its previous two deals were credit card subordinates: one for a private- label credit card company and the other for a specialty Visa-MasterCard issuer, according to Jenison. Jenison did not disclose specifics of either transaction.

RiviereJenison Securities is the new name for the broker-dealer originally known as Barton Creek Capital, which was formed in 1997 by Robert Riviere. Reviere and Jenison then re-founded the company and changed the name in October 2003, following NASD approval.

"I brought expertise as far as being able to manage transactions and put them together," said Jenison. "I am the banker end." By contrast, Riviere's specialty is sales and trading, he added.

The company is currently headquartered in Austin, Tex., the historical roots of the firm, where Reviere is stationed. It also has an office in New York run by three individuals, including Jenison, where the primary investment banking activities take place, as well as a satellite office in Boston.

Structured finance professional Stuart Silpy, who worked with Jenison at Prudential Securities in the early 1990s, is a director at the New York based-office. Russ Salisbury, who worked in credit enhancement at State Street Bank for many years and is a specialist in NIM and conduit transactions, runs the Boston office.

Although the company deals with both investment- and speculative-grade transactions, their specialty remains in the speculative sector because RevierJennison is able to find a home for bonds, added Jennison. Investors are interested in this type of deal with support as far as good data, good information and good explanations for complete due diligence, according to Jenison. They want the ability to understand the bond, and people need to take time in order to have an investor buy a non-investment grade bond, he added.

Looking ahead, the company has immediate expansion plans into Los Angeles, and it also hopes to increase all office activities. The company will add staff in New York and might also expand in Austin, where the company sees a good deal of investment banking business and has a good call into the business community. The company will work primarily in consumer products but will also run the entire gamut - all of the ABS forums, including residential real estate.

"Right now, we have a very good pipeline of transactions and we expect to be regular participants in the marketplace," said Jenison. "I think the prospect looks good for everyone in asset-backed securities."

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