Two Former ARC Programs Replace Independent Accounting Firms
Business Development Corporation of America, a publicly registered non-traded business development company, dismissed KPMG as the its independent registered public accounting firm and hired Ernst & Young as its replacement. The decision was approved by the audit committee of the board of directors.
BDCA was advised by AR Global, the successor business of AR Capital, until November 2016 when shareholders voted to replace the advisor with an affiliate of Benefit Street Partners.
Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust Inc., an affiliated non-traded real estate investment trust, also replaced KPMG with Ernst & Young as its independent registered public accounting firm. The REIT was formerly known as Realty Finance Trust before Benefit Street Partners took over as its new advisor at the end of September 2016.
BDCA primarily invests in senior secured loans, and to a lesser extent, mezzanine loans, unsecured loans and equity of private middle-market companies. The company commenced its initial public offering in January 2011 and raised $1.9 billion before closing the offering in April 2015. As of the first quarter of 2017, BDCA had $2.3 billion in investments, according to Summit Investment Research.
Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust focuses on commercial real estate debt investments secured by income-producing properties and targets loans and securities – diversified by duration, geographic location, property type, ownership, and tenancy. The REIT commenced operations in November 2012 and raised $780 million in investor equity prior to closing the offering in January 2016. As of March 31,2017, the company’s portfolio consisted of 67 investments totaling approximate $1 billion.
