The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a major financial firm has hired a former Goldman Sachs executive to run a leveraging unit that is expected to invest in distressed U.S. companies.
The firm, J&Q Financials, said Friday it had reached an agreement with the former Goldman vice president and CFO to join the firm’s newly created leveraged buying unit, which will help manage funds in distressed companies.
“This unit will invest in U.K. companies with strong fundamentals and leverage, which could help us achieve our objectives of reducing the level of debt in our portfolio,” the firm said in a statement.
J&=Q is one of the largest leveraged buyers in the United States.
It recently acquired the former investment banking group at Goldman Sachs, which was valued at $16.7 billion at the time of the purchase.
In March, J-Row Capital purchased $11 billion in debt backed by debt from General Electric, which had $8 billion of debt on its books.
A new deal to buy back U.B.T. Capital Corp. debt, one of its largest assets, will increase J&=Q’s leverage by $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The new unit will work under J&&’s former chief financial officer, Richard Belsky, who is no longer involved with Goldman Sachs.
He was previously the head of a leverages unit at Goldman.
Belsky left J&A in June to take the reins of UB=T Capital.
“J&Q Financial’s Leveraged Buyout and Leveraged Investments division is pleased to have Richard join us as we embark on our mission to accelerate the turnaround of U.A.C.,” the firm wrote in a release.
Last year, J.B.’s was acquired by Citigroup, which is now the largest U.C.C., or U.F.
C, in the world.
It will continue to be part of J&B, which has a large stake in Citigroup.
