PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - June 20, 2007) - Resource America, Inc. (
NASDAQ:
REXI)
-- Increases LEAF's commercial finance Assets Under Management to over $1
billion
-- Adds in excess of $100 million in annual lease and loan origination
capability
-- Assets acquired on behalf of LEAF's investment partnerships
Resource America, Inc. (
NASDAQ:
REXI) announces today that its commercial
finance subsidiary, LEAF Financial Corporation ("LEAF"), has significantly
expanded its third party lease origination capability and assets under
management by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire the Leasing
Division of Pacific Capital Bank, N.A. (fdba Santa Barbara Bank & Trust).
The total purchase price of approximately $280 million includes a portfolio
of small ticket leases to be acquired by LEAF's investment partnerships and
by LEAF on behalf of those vehicles. In addition, LEAF will retain the
lease origination and management platform as well as one of the industry's
most experienced small ticket leasing teams including senior management,
originations, and operations personnel and their relationships with a
network of over 200 third party originators. After this acquisition, LEAF
will manage over $1 billion of commercial leases and finance assets for its
own account and the accounts of individual and institutional investors. The
new LEAF Third Party Funding Group will continue to operate from Santa
Barbara, CA and is expected to originate in excess of $100 million of
additional lease assets for LEAF investment vehicles in fiscal 2008.
Pacific Capital Bank's Leasing Division is one of the nation's largest and
most respected financial institutions dedicated to funding transactions
from third party originators and traces back to Puritan Leasing Company,
which was founded in Santa Barbara in 1962. It was recently recognized as a
40+ year member of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA).
"The combined leasing operations of LEAF and PCB create an exciting funding
resource for the vibrant third party origination segment of the equipment
leasing and finance industry," said Paul Menzel, who will be General
Manager of the combined LEAF Third Party Funding Group. "The rich heritage
of each entity includes some of the most experienced leasing professionals
in our industry and virtually identical credit and operating cultures.
LEAF's expertise and technology tools will immediately enhance the service
capability and responsiveness to our third party originators and their
customers. A powerful force has been created."
Crit DeMent, Chairman and CEO of LEAF, said, "We are very excited to
welcome Paul Menzel and the PCB Leasing team members to the LEAF family.
The experience, reputation and extensive third party relationships of PCB's
Leasing Division, we believe, are unparalleled in our industry. I am
confident that the combined synergies of the companies will create a
dominant business in the third party funding segment. Not only does this
enhance our origination capabilities but our investment partners will
benefit from the quality of assets generated through this acquisition."
LEAF Financial Corporation is a commercial finance and asset management
company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. LEAF's business model is to
originate small to middle ticket equipment leases and loans in a variety of
asset classes through five strategic business units. After origination,
LEAF manages the leases for its own account, institutions, and individual
investors through investment partnerships and other investment vehicles.
LEAF Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Resource America, Inc.
(
NASDAQ:
REXI). LEAF was advised on this acquisition by Fairview Advisors,
LLC.
FairView Advisors specializes in Mergers and Acquisitions, and finding
private equity and debt financing as well as strategic advisory work for
companies in select industries, including financial services, biomedical
and healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, telecom and wireless
as well as sports and media. The company is headquartered in Naples,
Florida with offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. For more
information visit the company's website is
www.fairviewadvisors.com or
contact Don Jay Smith at 908-832-1020.
Resource America is a specialized asset management company that uses
industry specific expertise to generate and administer investment
opportunities for its own account and for outside investors in the
financial fund management, real estate and commercial finance sectors. For
more information please visit our website at
www.resourceamerica.com or
contact Investor Relations at
pschreiber@resourceamerica.com.
Certain matters discussed within this press release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Although Resource America, Inc. believes the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
expectations include financial performance, regulatory changes, changes in
local or national economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to
time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including quarterly
reports on Form 10Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K.
Contact Information: Contact:
Pamela Schreiber
Investor Relations
Resource America, Inc.
1845 Walnut Street, 10th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-5005