Engs Commercial Finance announced this week that its shareholders, led by Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm investing in financial services, have entered into an agreement to sell all shares of Engs to Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL).
Engs says MUL is a prominent global leasing company headquartered in Tokyo and its principal shareholders include Mitsubishi Corporation, a leading Japanese trading and investment company, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., one of the world’s leading financial institutions. In Japan, MUL has consistently delivered leading vendor-based financing products to customers and is a leading equipment lender. In 2015, MUL expanded its vendor financing capabilities outside of Japan by launching a dedicated business in Thailand, the company says.
Through its acquisition of Engs, MUL is now extending its global reach of vendor finance to the United States. Since Aquiline became the majority investor in Engs in February 2015, Aquiline and Engs have worked to expand Engs’ footprint and diversify Engs’ offerings, expanding into the industrial, construction, factoring and insurance sectors, the company says. With this transaction, Engs will continue to expand its existing relationships and markets with its U.S. based vendors. Engs also will be the U.S. vendor-based platform for MUL’s international clients doing business in the U.S., the company adds.
“We are extremely excited to become part of the MUL family,” says Craig Weinewuth, president and CEO of Engs. “The strength and power of the MUL brand worldwide is unrivaled. Becoming the U.S.-based vendor finance platform to carry out MUL’s vision will provide great benefits to our employees, vendors and customers. Together with MUL’s existing U.S. businesses, we will be able to offer our vendor and customer clients products and services that very few in the U.S. can match.”
Weinewuth adds, “MUL will be a great fit for Engs. MUL and Engs share the same vision to become the leading commercial finance company in the U.S. We will achieve this by providing the best-in-class products and services to our vendors and customers. This will enable them to grow their businesses most efficiently.”
Engs says the transaction is subject to approval under Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.
