Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has struck another deal for an equipment financing company.
The $7.1 billion-asset company said Wednesday that it is acquiring Vantage Financial in Excelsior, Minnesota, for $54 million in cash. The deal comes less than a year after Peoples acquired certain assets of North Star Leasing in Burlington, Vermont, for $47.5 million.
Vantage is a national equipment financing company that provides leases to middle-market companies in need of information technology equipment. At Dec. 31, Vantage had lease assets of approximately $147 million, according to a news release announcing the transaction.
Peoples inherited about $84 million of leases in the North Star acquisition.
“The addition of Vantage to the Peoples suite of product offerings will allow us to build upon our recent success with our North Star Leasing acquisition, while also becoming a top 100 U.S. leasing business based on combined assets,” CEO Chuck Sulerzyski said in the release.
As part of the agreement, Peoples is also expected to repay about $21 million in recourse debt on behalf of Vantage. Peoples said that Vantage would retain its name and operate as a subsidiary of Peoples Bank.
The deal is expected to close in March.
Bob Murphy, Vantage’s chairman and co-founder, is expected to retire around the time the deal closes. Other Vantage executives and employees, including co-founder and CEO William Foudray, would join Peoples, according to the news release.
Vantage’s portfolio includes more than 1,000 leases and the average amount financed at origination is $260,000, the release said. The number of originations increased on average by 25% annually from 2016 to 2021 and the portfolio generated a yield of roughly 6% last year.
Peoples was advised by Hovde Group and Squire Patton Boggs. Vantage and its equity owners were advised by Cherry Tree & Associates and Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg.
