Lending Firm Raistone Seeks Rescue After First Brands Demise
Of $132 Million in Revenue That Raistone Expected for Next Year, $101 Million Was Projected to Come From First Brands
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Trade finance platform Raistone is looking to sell itself after the collapse of its biggest client, auto parts supplier First Brands Group.
Raistone said it is “evaluating strategic alternatives” due to the “liquidity strain” it has faced since the demise of First Brands, according to an investor presentation reviewed by Bloomberg.
Potential bidders were asked to indicate their interest in an outright sale or an equity recapitalization by Oct. 31. It is unclear what has happened since that deadline. Raistone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Raistone operates a platform that connects manufacturing firms like First Brands with investors willing to provide short-term cash in exchange for revenue that is scheduled to come in. The company said in its presentation that it is a “low-risk platform business” that offers accurate data to create a “reduced chance of fraud.”
These deals ultimately played a central role in First Brand’s bankruptcy because they allowed the company to take on obligations that were not visible to many of its long-term lenders. Raistone said after the Chapter 11 filing that $2.3 billion tied to First Brands trade finance deals had “simply vanished.”
First Brands has sued its founder and former CEO Patrick James, accusing him of pilfering the money for his own gain. James resigned in October and has denied the allegations.
Of the $132 million in revenue that Raistone expected for next year, $101 million was projected to come from First Brands, the presentation said.
Even as it faces investigations into whether it raised money through double-pledged or false invoices, First Brands Group is seeking toonce again accessshort-term financing by selling its accounts receivables, Bloomberg previously reported.
In its presentation, Raistone said it hopes to make $27 million by offering more financing to First Brands as it emerges from bankruptcy.
Raistone projects that its revenue will only drop 50% between 2025 and 2026 due to its “strong active pipeline” of potential deals, even as it cuts head count to 31 people from 105 in 2024.
Raistone was founded in 2017 by David Skirzenski, who will make a base salary of $437,750 in 2026, the company reported. He had previously worked at Greensill Capital, a trade finance platform that collapsed in 2021 after its biggest clients struggled to pay back investors. The fall of Greensill was one of the factors that forced Credit Suisse Group AG to sell itself to UBS Group AG in 2024.
Written by Davide Scigliuzzo, Eliza Ronalds-Hannon and Irene García Pérez
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