Star Mountain Capital Closes Star Mountain CFO I, a Collateralized Fund Obligation Providing Rated Access to U.S. Lower Middle-Market Private Credit

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 13, 2026--

Star Mountain Capital, LLC ("Star Mountain"), a rapidly growing, employee-owned investment firm with ~$5 billion in assets under management (“AUM”), announced the final close of Star Mountain CFO I ("CFO I"), a collateralized fund obligation providing insurance companies and institutional investors with investment grade-rated access to Star Mountain's direct lending strategy. Star Mountain partnered with Evercore on the transaction.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813184572/en/

CFO I was structured to accommodate investors as both horizontal buyers and vertical strip investors. The vehicle provides exposure to a diversified, seasoned portfolio of U.S. lower middle-market investments across Star Mountain's direct lending funds, focused on established businesses in recession-resilient industries with robust covenant protections and zero direct exposure to software companies, real estate or energy.

"We are pleased to have partnered with Evercore to complete Star Mountain CFO I, which reflects growing institutional demand for rated, structured access to the U.S. lower middle-market," said Brett Hickey, Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital. "This transaction demonstrates our continued commitment to developing innovative solutions that meet investors where they are, and we are proud of the strong execution and institutional interest this offer has received."

CFO I has a diversified investor base across blue chip institutional investors and wealth management platforms. Star Mountain continues to develop rated structures for its direct lending and secondaries strategies.

About Star Mountain Capital

With ~$5 billion in AUM (committed capital including debt facilities as of 7/31/2026), Star Mountain specializes in providing scalable and 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 Closes Star Mountain CFO I, a Collateralized Fund Obligation Providing Rated Access to U.S. Lower Middle-Market Private Credit

A nationwide ground stop ended around 8:15 p.m. ET, and some domestic flights have now departed from U.S. airports.

However, normalizing air traffic after the longest flight stoppage in 25 years will be slow, authorities warned.

Officials say the system is likely to be operating normally in time to handle the Thanksgiving travel rush.

Here’s what to know.

The Federal Aviation Administration said airplane departures could late Friday evening Eastern time. Passengers should contact their airlines for information about their flights, the FAA said.

The ripple effect from the stoppage could be felt for days, however.

More than 2,500 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Saturday and hundreds more were delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Americans traveling that getting air traffic back to normal won't be quick.

International flights are being handled on a case-by-case basis, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

San Francisco airport said that flights headed across the Pacific Ocean were cleared to leave the airport from Friday evening. That included flights destined for Hawaii and Asia.

Europe’s aviation agency suspended U.S.-bound departures at the request of the FAA from 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday until midnight.

Airlines are obligated to offer free rebooking on another flight for travelers who want to continue their journey, or a refund if their flight was canceled and they decide not to take the trip.

New technology being hooked up to the nation’s air traffic control system overloaded antiquated equipment, Trump administration officials said.

That caused “intermittent” communications and radar gaps, leading to the flight shutdown of more than four hours, according to officials.

Duffy suggested more disruptions might occur.

“We didn’t think we would have this kind of outage. We did,” he said.

The air traffic control modernization began last year after Congress approved $12.5 billion of funding. Duffy and the White House are pushing for $30 billion more to complete the work.

Microsoft said it had no indication that the ground stop was related to the service disruption that took Outlook and other services offline Thursday, a spokesperson for the company said.

Mullin said there is no indication the failure was related to a cyberattack, either.

“There was never any lives at risk,” Mullin added. “There was no flights at risk. FAA was able to handle it. We did it."

The ground stop was enacted “out of an abundance of caution,” he said.

Two travelers sleep in the baggage claim area at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Baggage waits for travelers to claim in at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A traveler sleeps at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A display board shows canceled flights to the U.S., in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Florian Wiegand/dpa via AP)