NewtekOne's Credit Rating Upgraded by Egan-Jones
BOCA RATON, Fla., March 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewtekOne, Inc. (the "Company”) (NASDAQ: NEWT) has completed an exempt offering of $30.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.375% notes due 2030 (the "Notes” and the "Offering"). The Offering was consummated pursuant to the terms of a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement”) dated March 19, 2025 between the Company and eleven institutional accredited investors (the "Purchasers”). The Purchase Agreement provided for the Notes to be issued to the Purchasers in a private placement in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act”). The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. The Notes will mature on April 1, 2030.
Net proceeds from the sale of the Notes were approximately $29.250 million, after deducting estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to refinance existing indebtedness, with remaining proceeds, if any, for general corporate purposes (including payment of expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the Notes, providing capital to Newtek Bank, National Association, and other working capital purposes).
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., A Stifel Company and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. acted as placement agents for the Company.
In addition, Egan-Jones Ratings Company ("Egan-Jones") recently upgraded the Company's credit rating from "BBB+” to "A- ". The rating upgrade applies to the Company and its outstanding senior unsecured notes including the Company's Nasdaq listed notes: NEWTZ, NEWTI, NEWTG, and NEWTH. Egan-Jones noted the upgrade was based on, among other things, the Company's healthy shareholders equity to asset ratio, strong tier 1 capital ratio and improvement in efficiency ratio. According to Egan-Jones public disclosures, a rating in the "A” category suggests a "high level of creditworthiness with low sensitivity to evolving credit conditions.”*
Barry Sloane, Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "We are extremely pleased to have received an upgraded rating from a nationally recognized organization such as Egan-Jones. We believe that the rating upgrade reflects the strength of our earnings stream, our well-capitalized balanced sheet, the depth and breadth of our product offerings geared to independent business owners, and our loan portfolio that is diversified by geography and industry."
Egan-Jones is a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization and is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider. Egan-Jones is also certified by the European Securities and Markets Authority.
* Egan-Jones Ratings Company ("EJR”) credit-related and other analyses, including ratings, statements in the Ratings letter are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and are not statements of fact. EJR's opinions and analyses are not recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions, and do not address the suitability of any security. EJR may receive compensation for its ratings and certain analyses, normally from issuers or underwriters of securities, or from obligors.
Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time. An explanation of the significance of ratings may be obtained from the rating agencies.
About NewtekOne, Inc.
NewtekOne®, Your Business Solutions Company®, is a financial holding company, which along with its bank and non-bank consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, "NewtekOne”), provides a wide range of business and financial solutions under the Newtek® brand to independent business owners. Since 1999, NewtekOne has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to independent business owners across all 50 states to help them grow their sales, control their expenses, and reduce their risk.
NewtekOne's and its subsidiaries' business and financial solutions include: banking (Newtek Bank, N.A.), Business Lending, SBA Lending Solutions, Electronic Payment Processing, Accounts Receivable Financing & Inventory Financing, Insurance Solutions and Payroll and Benefits Solutions. In addition, NewtekOne offers its clients the Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing, Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval, IT Consulting and Web Services) provided by Intelligent Protection Management Corp. (IPM.com).
Newtek®, NewtekOne®, Newtek Bank®, National Association, Your Business Solutions Company®, One Solution for All Your Business Needs® and Newtek Advantage are registered trademarks of NewtekOne, Inc.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the Private Securities Litigation and Reform Act of 1995 are based on the current beliefs and expectations of NewtekOne's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. See "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and the sections entitled "Risk Factors” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available on NewtekOne's website (https://investor.newtekbusinessservices.com/sec-filings) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website (www.sec.gov). Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of NewtekOne speak only as to the date they are made, and NewtekOne does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.
SOURCE: NewtekOne, Inc.
Investor Relations & Public Relations
Contact: Bryce Rowe
Telephone: (212) 273-8292 / browe@newtekone.com
