Star Mountain Capital Recognized by GrowthCap as One of the Top Private Credit Firms of 2025

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 7, 2026--

Star Mountain Capital, LLC (“Star Mountain”), a specialized private investment firm focused on delivering systematic alpha and low market-correlated, tax-advantaged returns from the inefficient lower middle-market, is pleased to announce that it has been named one of GrowthCap’s Top Private Credit Firms of 2025.

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GrowthCap’s annual awards highlight firms that demonstrate exceptional lending expertise, organizational excellence and the ability to serve as long-term, solutions-oriented partners to private businesses. Honorees are selected based on GrowthCap’s evaluation of investment capabilities, firm culture, track record and commitment to responsible stewardship within the private credit ecosystem.

“We are honored to be recognized by GrowthCap as one of the leading private credit firms in the United States,” said Brett Hickey, Star Mountain Capital Founder & CEO. “This recognition reflects our team’s dedication to delivering value-added financing solutions to established lower middle-market businesses and providing consistently strong partnership to management teams and investors.”

GrowthCap’s 2025 review emphasized the importance of consistent performance, differentiated sourcing networks and collaborative, borrower-aligned capital solutions. These are areas that Star Mountain has strategically focused on for over fifteen years. Star Mountain’s platform is designed to support high-quality private businesses with flexible debt and equity capital, while leveraging technology, data analytics and a deep bench of operating partners to help drive long-term success.

“Our focus remains on being a thoughtful, long-term capital partner,” Mr. Hickey added. “We continue to invest meaningfully in our team, technology and infrastructure to help deliver scalable, value-enhancing solutions across a wide range of industries. We believe our 100% U.S. full-time employee profit-sharing model and active community engagement through the Star Mountain Charitable Foundation strengthen our culture and support our mission.”

About Star Mountain Capital

With ~$4.5 billion in AUM (committed capital including debt facilities as of 12/31/2025), Star Mountain specializes in providing data-driven investment solutions across two core strategies:

Star Mountain’s investors include public and private pensions, insurance companies, commercial banks, endowments, foundations, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Employee-owned and sharing profits with 100% of its U.S. full-time employees, the firm prioritizes alignment of interests to maximize value for stakeholders.

Since 2010, Star Mountain has completed over 100 direct platform investments and 50 secondary/fund investments in the North American lower middle-market. The firm has been recognized as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies and a Best Place to Work by Crain’s New York Business and Pensions & Investments.

For more information, visit www.starmountaincapital.com.

Legal Disclaimer:

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by third-party rating agencies, companies, or publications should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future results or performance. They should not be considered as an endorsement, recommendation, or referral of Star Mountain Capital or its representatives by any client or third party. Rankings published by media and industry organizations are based on information provided by the recognized advisor. Additionally, readers should understand that past performance is not indicative of future results. Award descriptions and selection methodologies may vary.

Awards and Recognition Disclosure:

Star Mountain Capital’s awards and recognitions are based on third-party evaluations and criteria, which may be subjective. These honors do not imply a guarantee of future performance or an endorsement by current or past clients.

Ranking Methodologies:

 

Star Mountain Capital Has Been Named one of GrowthCap's Top Private Credit Firms 2025.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela will release a “significant number” of citizens and foreigners from its prisons in a decision that the head of the country’s legislature described Thursday as a gesture to “seek peace” less than a week after former President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces to face federal drug-trafficking charges in New York.

Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez and head of the National Assembly, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released.

The Penal Forum, a human rights organization in Venezuela, said that as of Dec. 29, 2025, there were 863 people detained in Venezuela “for political reasons.”

“We will be verifying each release. We already know of some people on their way to freedom, including foreigners," wrote Alfredo Romero, director of the Forum, in a post on X.

The release of opposition figures and critics has been a longtime demand by Venezuela's opposition and the United States government.

Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous 2024 election, Venezuela's government denies that there are “political prisoners” and accuse those detained of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

“Consider this a gesture by the Bolivarian government, which is broadly intended to seek peace,” Rodríguez said in an announcement publicized over TV.

Little movement was immediately seen outside one of Venezuela's most notable prisons, where a number of the detainees are held.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide. Both moves reflect the administration’s determination to make good on its effort to control the next steps in Venezuela through its vast oil resources after President Donald Trump pledged after the capture of Maduro that the U.S. will “run” the country.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Activists and relatives of prisoners release balloons calling for the freedom of political prisoners, in Caracas, Venezuela, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Commuters ride a bus past a mural calling for the release of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was detained by U.S. forces, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)