Keiki-Michael Cabanos is Counsel in the Firm’s Corporate Department. He brings valuable experience to the firm and focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, venture capital investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances and corporate finance transactions, including related capital markets and securitization transactions. He has the unique experience of being involved in the development of companies from seed financing to exit.

Keiki also acts as General Counsel to Westwood Capital, LLC, where he oversees the legal aspects of the firm, including investment transactions, private equity funds and firm operations. Before joining Westwood Capital, Keiki gained experience with closed-end fund formation and operations as the initial Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel for First Albany Corporation’s, a financial service and investment banking firm, private equity fund focused on IT and New Energy Technologies. In addition, Keiki was responsible for providing legal counsel in financial, securities, compliance, tax, trust and estate matters for First Albany. Keiki fused his financial and legal experiences to provide diverse support in investments and oversaw all legal, accounting, financial reporting and administrative functions.

Earlier in his career, Keiki was a Senior Vice President of Consulting for SEFCU, Vice President of First Albany Corporation, where he formed and controlled the employee private equity funds, and was a Senior Litigation Consultant at Deloitte & Touche, LLP.

Keiki is a FINRA Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional. Keiki is a member of several boards, including the Board of Trustees of Albany Law and the board of advisors for the Institute for Financial Market Regulation. He has lectured on several topics, including private equity, fund operations, corporate strategies, and secured transactions. Keiki received the honor of being selected the Albany Law Outstanding Young Alumnus, as well as one of the Capital District Business Review’s “40-Under-Forty”.

Keiki’s transactional and advisory experience includes:

• Purchase of SBA-Related Assets;
• Representation, negotiation and closing of an asset management joint venture;
• Divestiture of a major domestic paint company to a major closed-end management investment company;
• Senior secured bridge financing collateralized by a senior trust deed;
• Private placement of Pass-Through Certificates (interests in SBA loans);
• Advising company that develops and commercializes patented microfluidic, cell-based assay platforms for use in drug discovery and development, consumer and industrial product toxicity testing, and related fields;
• Modification and upsizing of revolving securitization facilities;
• Capital markets private placement securitization financing backed by regional merchant voucher receivables cashflows for a Central American financial institution;
• Advising and closing a preferred equity stake in Bahamas based resort/hotel/casino;
• Initial seed funding, and rounds of investments to IPO of a domestic fuel cell company; and
• Structuring and placing debt securities of real estate sponsors holding properties qualifying for low-income housing tax credits

Keiki’s experience in the fund and early-stage private equity transactions include:

• Founding partner and principal of $250 million VC fund specializing in IT and New Energy Technologies;
• Advising real estate focused private equity fund and raising joint venture capital;
• Advisor to acquirer of distressed residential condominium and cooperative housing projects throughout the U.S.;
• Advisor to early-stage solar company through its first round of institutional round of financing; and
• Advising new fund formed for the purposes of acquiring distressed hotels and other hospitality properties, and securities collateralized by the same