Loba Capital Management

Matthew Hepler, the founder and portfolio manager, makes all investment decisions. Hepler spent seven years at Apollo Global Management as a distressed credit principal before launching Loba in 2021. The firm does not operate an investment committee — Hepler's direct involvement in every restructuring is the stated governance model.

Loba targets North American companies with $5 million to $15 million in EBITDA. The firm invests across the capital structure — first-lien, second-lien, and mezzanine credit — with check sizes that scale to the situation. Stressed and distressed balance sheets are the entry point, often with a negotiated or litigated path to control.

Loba sources through a network of restructuring attorneys, turnaround advisors, regional banks, and direct lender relationships built during Hepler's Apollo tenure. The firm also monitors secondary loan trading desks for mispriced distressed paper. Origination of bilateral rescue loans to companies that cannot access syndicated markets is a stated pillar of the strategy.

Loba invests directly — it does not make fund commitments or act as a limited partner in other credit vehicles. The firm structures bespoke credit instruments directly with borrowers and purchases secondary claims from selling lenders. Post-reorganization equity is held directly on the balance sheet of the fund.

Loba has indicated it avoids sectors with binary regulatory or litigation outcomes that sit outside commercial restructuring frameworks, including speculative biotechnology and early-stage exploration and production energy. Real estate and financial services have also not appeared as target sectors in the firm's disclosed activity.