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Abacus sole lender on Fengate's buyout of a Florida clinical firm

The lender also made an equity co-investment in Clinical Research of West Florida; price, debt size and equity amount were not disclosed.

At a glance

  1. Abacus also made an equity co-investment in the company.
  2. The report did not disclose the purchase price, the size of the debt facilities or the amount of the equity co-investment.
  3. The equity co-investment puts Abacus on both sides of the capital structure.

Abacus Finance Group was sole lender and administrative agent on senior secured facilities backing Fengate Private Equity's leveraged buyout of Clinical Research of West Florida, ABF Journal reported Oct. 23. Abacus also made an equity co-investment in the company.

The report did not disclose the purchase price, the size of the debt facilities or the amount of the equity co-investment.

The equity co-investment puts Abacus on both sides of the capital structure. For any fund or co-investment vehicle participating in Abacus-financed deals, the open diligence question is the size of the equity check relative to the senior debt and the terms on which it is held.

Abacus's founding partner and chief executive, Tim Clifford, said the transaction was Abacus's first with Fengate and that the lender met the tight closing timeline.

Reported by the Private Equity desk from ABF Journal. Published . Updated Oct 24, 2026 · 5:27 a.m. ET. Corrections

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