Steier and Baydala join Meridian Capital Group LLC

According to Meridian Capital Group, LLC, a national real estate finance advisor, it has added Peter Steier as managing director, head of equity capital markets, and of Terry Baydala, executive vice president, head of structured finance. Steier will be responsible for overseeing the company's entry into providing equity capital markets services and Baydala will focus on broadening Meridian's national and international lender relationships, including by fostering the company's ability to originate and syndicate larger and more complex loans. Steier joins Meridian from The Carlton Group where he was a managing director. In his new role for Meridian, Steier is charged with building a full-service equity capital markets platform to complement the company's well-established debt capital markets expertise. The equity capital markets platform will allow Meridian's clients access to a broad array of equity-focused transactions, including recapitalizations, joint venture equity, sponsor equity, passive promotable equity, acquisition capital, pari passu equity, entity level equity, and preferred equity, as well as highly structured equity to accommodate the most complex situations. "With the current trend of recapitalizations and joint ventures, as well as Meridian's leading position in debt capital markets, the company's expansion into equity services is a natural platform extension at a time when market demand for these services is historically high," said Steier. "I am genuinely excited to join the dynamic team here at Meridian and look forward to introducing our new equity services to the company's clients nationally and building upon our longstanding tradition of excellence in markets in which we operate," he said. Baydala joins Meridian after five years as senior vice president of commercial real estate banking at Anglo Irish Bank, where he structured and syndicated large commercial loans. At Meridian, Baydala will spearhead the development of the company's structured finance platform, including a broadening of the firm's institutional relationships. These expanded relationships will enable Meridian’s financing partners the enhanced flexibility to participate in large, Meridian-facilitated financings. Meridian expects that the new platform will expand its financing capabilities for larger and more complex transactions, especially for deals that require multiple lenders and investors throughout the capital stack. Lenders that the platform will seek to engage will include local and regional banks, small- to mid-sized life insurance companies, and non-U.S.-based lenders seeking exposure to U.S. commercial real estate. "I am proud to lead this initiative at Meridian. For more than twenty years, Meridian has earned the confidence and trust of the world's most sophisticated real estate investors and lending institutions. I believe there is significant opportunity through this platform to further expand the Company's market coverage, and to broaden our ability to service our clients and financing partners," said Baydala. Steier and Baydala both join Meridian at a pivotal point in its history and strategic growth plan. Meridian, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011, has grown into one of the nation's preeminent commercial real estate finance intermediaries in both dollar volume and loan count, closing $17.3 billion covering nearly 2,800 transactions in 2011. “I am delighted to welcome Peter and Terry to our Meridian team. I have no doubt that they will both play significant roles in driving our Company to a new level,” said Ralph Herzka, Meridian’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is a very exciting time in Meridian’s upward growth curve. By adding accomplished professionals like Peter and Terry, we are substantially enhancing our Company’s preeminence as a leading commercial real estate finance and advisory firm,” added Mr. Herzka. Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group, LLC is one of the nation's largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms. Meridian is headquartered in New York with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and California. Working with a broad array of capital providers, Meridian arranges financing for transactions ranging from $1 million to more than $500 million for multifamily, co-op, office, retail, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing, self-storage and construction properties.