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Madison Capital Funding
Madison Capital Funding was founded in 2001 and has operated as an affiliate of New York Life Insurance Company since its acquisition. The firm is led by...
Madison Capital Funding
Madison Capital Funding was founded in 2001 and has operated as an affiliate of New York Life Insurance Company since its acquisition. The firm is led by Chairman Christopher Williams, who shaped the platform around a single concentration: providing senior secured cash-flow loans to private equity sponsors executing middle-market acquisitions and recapitalizations. The firm underwrites senior debt facilities against borrower cash flows, covering leveraged buyouts, growth capital deployments, and balance-sheet recapitalizations. Its mandate spans software, healthcare, business services, and niche industrial companies—sectors where reliable cash-flow streams support leverage. Madison Capital typically holds its loans on its own balance sheet or within vehicles affiliated with New York Life's general account, rather than syndicating broadly. This captive-capital structure lets the firm provide committed financing with terms that regional banks often cannot match. The Chicago office supplements the New York headquarters, giving the team proximity to the Midwest manufacturing and sponsor ecosystem. In July 2022, Madison Capital served as administrative agent and lead arranger on a senior secured credit facility to support Wincove Capital's acquisition of a compliance-technology platform, illustrating its role as a dedicated lending partner to lower-mid-market sponsors. Madison Capital's structural differentiator is its permanent balance sheet inside a AAA-rated insurance parent. Most middle-market direct lenders fund through closed-end private credit vehicles with forced deployment timelines. Madison Capital operates on New York Life's general account—there is no fund-duration pressure, which lets the firm walk away from deals that do not meet credit standards, a posture almost unique among sponsor-lending shops.
General information
Firm type
Private Credit
Year founded
2001
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Additional offices
Chicago, IL, United States
Principals
Christopher Williams
Chairman
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Madison Capital Funding?
Chairman Christopher Williams leads the firm and has overseen its strategy since founding. Day-to-day underwriting and portfolio management are handled by a team of senior credit officers operating from New York and Chicago. Specific investment committee members beyond the chairman are not publicly named in the firm's standard disclosures.
How does Madison Capital Funding source deal flow?
Madison Capital sources transactions almost exclusively through relationships with private equity sponsors focused on the lower and middle market. The firm does not advertise broadly or operate a proprietary origination platform for non-sponsored companies. Its origination team covers sponsors across the US from the New York and Chicago offices, emphasizing repeat borrowers and multi-fund sponsor relationships.
Does Madison Capital Funding participate in fund commitments or only direct lending?
Madison Capital operates solely as a direct lender, originating and holding senior secured loans on its own balance sheet or within affiliated accounts. The firm does not make LP commitments to private equity funds. This pure direct-lending model differentiates it from bank-owned platforms that blend fund finance with sponsor lending.
How is Madison Capital Funding related to New York Life?
Madison Capital Funding operates as a wholly owned affiliate of New York Life Investment Management LLC, which is itself a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. The parent's AAA-rated balance sheet provides Madison Capital's permanent capital base, meaning the firm is not subject to the fund-life constraints that shape strategy at most independent direct lenders.
What is Madison Capital Funding's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Madison Capital is principally a senior lender, not an equity co-investor. Its product set is centered on first-lien and unitranche debt facilities. When a sponsor seeks pari passu or club-deal lending arrangements, Madison Capital has the balance-sheet commitment to anchor a facility while bringing in select partner lenders, but the firm does not actively pursue minority equity co-investment alongside its debt positions.
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