First Foundation Inc.
9.90%
8,152,392
1413837
32026V104
Oct 26, 2025
Nov 3, 2025, 06:14 PM
Reporting Persons (3)
This is a joint filing. The reported shares may overlap between reporting persons and should not be summed.
| Name | Type | % of Class | Aggregate | Sole Voting | Shared Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon Capital Advisors LLC | Investment Adviser | 9.90% | 8,152,392 | 8,152,392 | 0 |
| Joshua S. Friedman | Individual | 9.90% | 8,152,392 | 0 | 8,152,392 |
| Mitchell R. Julis | Individual | 9.90% | 8,152,392 | 0 | 8,152,392 |
Disclosure Items (7)
Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share
First Foundation Inc.
5221 N. O'CONNOR BLVD., IRVING, TX, 75039
This Schedule 13D is filed by: (i) Canyon Capital Advisors LLC ("CCA"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly held by certain managed accounts with respect to which it acts as investment advisor, including Canyon Value Realization Fund, L.P., The Canyon Value Realization Master Fund, L.P., Canyon Balanced Master Fund, Ltd., CDOF IV Master Fund, L.P., Canyon Distressed TX (A) LLC and Canyon ESG Master Fund, L.P. (collectively, the "Accounts"); (ii) Mr. Mitchell R. Julis ("Mr. Julis"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly held by the Accounts; and (iii) Mr. Joshua S. Friedman ("Mr. Friedman"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly held by the Accounts. Messrs. Julis and Friedman control CCA and control entities which own 80.1% of CCA. The foregoing persons are hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the "Reporting Persons." Any disclosures herein with respect to persons other than the Reporting Persons are made on information and belief after making inquiry to the appropriate party. The filing of this statement shall not be deemed an admission that any Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of the securities reported herein for purposes of Section 13 of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise. Each of Mr. Julis and Mr. Friedman expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of any of the securities held by the Accounts.
The address of the business office of CCA, Mr. Julis and Mr. Friedman is 2728 North Harwood Street, 2nd Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201.
The principal business of each of the Reporting Persons is investment and/or investment management.
During the five years preceding the date of this filing, none of the Reporting Persons nor, to the best of the Reporting Persons' knowledge, any of the Related Persons has been a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.
CCA is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the state of Delaware. Each of Mr. Julis and Mr. Friedman is a United States citizen.
A total of approximately $34,725,270 was paid to acquire such Common Stock. Funds for the purchase of the shares of Common Stock reported herein were derived from the working capital of the Accounts and margin borrowings described in the following sentence. Such shares of Common Stock are held by accounts managed by the Reporting Persons in commingled margin accounts, which may extend margin credit to the Reporting Persons from time to time, subject to applicable federal margin regulations, stock exchange rules and credit policies. In such instances, the positions held in the margin accounts are pledged as collateral security for the repayment of debit balances in the account. The margin accounts bear interest at a rate based upon the broker's call rate from time to time in effect. Because other securities are held in the margin accounts, it is not possible to determine the amounts, if any, of margin used to purchase the shares of Common Stock reported herein.
See rows (11) and (13) of the cover pages to this Schedule 13D for the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock and the percentage of the Common Stock beneficially owned by each of the Reporting Persons. The percentage reported in this Schedule 13D is calculated based upon the 82,386,071 shares of Common Stock to be outstanding as of August 4, 2025, as reported in the Issuer's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 11, 2025. Excludes Series A Preferred Stock and Series C Warrants. The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into 3,050,000 shares of Common Stock. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock will convert into 1,000 shares of Common Stock upon a Reg Y Transfer. The Series C Warrant is exercisable to purchase 4,480 shares of non-voting Series C Preferred Stock. Each share of Series C Preferred Stock will convert into 1,000 shares of Common Stock upon a Reg Y Transfer.
See rows (7) through (10) of the cover pages to this Schedule 13D for the number of shares of Common Stock as to which each Reporting Person has the sole or shared power to vote or direct the vote and sole or shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition.
Except as set forth in this Schedule 13D, the Reporting Persons have not effected any transaction in Common Stock in the past 60 days.
No person other than the Reporting Persons and the Accounts are known to have the right to participate in the receipt of dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the shares of Common Stock held by the Accounts.
Not applicable.
The information set forth in Item 4 of this Schedule 13D is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety in this Item 6. Other than the Joint Filing Agreement attached as Exhibit 6 hereto, there are no contracts, arrangements, understandings or relationships (legal or otherwise) between the persons named in Item 2 and any other person with respect to any securities of the Issuer, including but not limited to, transfer or voting of any of the shares of Common Stock, finder's fees, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees of profits, division of profits or loss, or the giving or withholding of proxies, including any securities pledged or otherwise subject to a contingency the occurrence of which would give another person voting power or investment power over such securities other than standard default and similar provisions contained in loan agreements.
1. Support Agreement, dated October 27, 2025, by and between affiliates of Canyon Partners, LLC and FirstSun Capital Bancorp. (Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit B to Exhibit 2.1 to the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Issuer on October 30, 2025). 2. Investment Agreement, dated July 2, 2024, by and among First Foundation Inc. and affiliates of Canyon Partners, LLC. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on July 2, 2024). 3. Registration Rights Agreement, dated July 8, 2024, by and among First Foundation Inc. and the Purchasers (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on July 9, 2024). 4. Partial Termination Agreement, dated October 27, 2025, by and among First Foundation Inc. and affiliates of Canyon Partners, LLC (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit I to Exhibit 2.1 to the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Issuer on October 30, 2025). 5. Warrant Exercise and Termination Agreement, dated October 27, 2025, by and among First Foundation Inc. and affiliates of Canyon Partners, LLC (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit G to Exhibit 2.1 to the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Issuer on October 30, 2025). 6. Joint Filing Agreement by and among the Reporting Persons, dated November 3, 2025.