Parthenon Capital Partners Completes Investment in White River Capital
February 14 2013 - 1:30PM
Business Wire
Parthenon Capital Partners, a Boston and San Francisco based
private equity firm (“Parthenon”), and White River Capital, Inc.
(NYSE MKT: RVR) (“White River”) today announced the closing of the
transaction in which an affiliate of Parthenon will acquire White
River and its wholly-owned subsidiary Coastal Credit, L.L.C.
(“Coastal Credit”) in a merger transaction between the Parthenon
affiliate and White River. Coastal Credit is a leading sub-prime
auto finance company that acquires and services auto receivables
originated at franchised and independent dealerships. One of
Parthenon’s largest limited partners, OPTrust, will also invest in
the transaction. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to
provide liquidity to White River’s shareholders who held shares at
the effective time of the merger. At a Special Meeting of
Shareholders held on February 11, 2013, White River’s shareholders
voted to approve the merger, the merger agreement for the
transactions, and all transactions contemplated by the merger
agreement.
Coastal Credit is led by President and CEO Bill McKnight, who
developed the Company into one of the leading sub-prime auto
finance businesses serving both the military and civilian markets
in the U.S. Mr. McKnight stated, “We are very excited to partner
with Parthenon given their knowledge of the auto finance industry
combined with their track record of helping companies grow. We have
developed a shared vision for Coastal’s continued growth and
disciplined industry approach and have already begun to make
significant progress towards our goals.”
Andrew Dodson, Partner at Parthenon, also remarked, “We are
thrilled to partner with Bill and the rest of the Coastal team.
Their 25-year history of producing growth and unparalleled
underwriting results makes Coastal a unique company in the auto
finance industry. Together with Bill and his team, we look forward
to continuing this success and augmenting it through enhanced
technology and dealer services, initiatives that we have already
begun to implement.”
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, Coastal Credit was founded
in 1987 by Bill McKnight with the goal of extending auto financing
to sub-prime borrowers, particularly in the military market.
Military lending requires intimate knowledge of customer credit
characteristics and strong, long-term relationships with
dealerships, both of which have been solidified over 25+ years of
doing business. By leveraging its successful track record and
industry-leading underwriting capabilities, the Coastal team
expanded its geographic footprint and began serving the broader
civilian market. Today, the Company enjoys a leading presence in
both military and civilian dealerships, and operates across 27 U.S.
states through 14 branch locations.
Brian P. Golson, Managing Partner at Parthenon, said, “This
transaction is the culmination of a multi-year search for the right
partnership in the sub-prime auto finance sector. In partnership
with Parthenon, we believe the Coastal team—both organically and
through acquisitions—can extend its national reach and continue its
impressive growth, while maintaining its industry-leading
underwriting discipline.”
About White River and Coastal Credit
White River is the holding company for Coastal Credit LLC.
Coastal Credit LLC founded in 1987, is a specialized auto finance
company, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in
acquiring sub-prime auto receivables from both franchised and
independent automobile dealers which have entered into contracts
with purchasers of typically used, but some new, cars and light
trucks. Coastal Credit then services the receivables it acquires.
Coastal Credit commenced operations in Virginia in 1987 and
conducts business in 27 states – Alaska, California, Colorado,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington – through
its 14 branch locations.
About Parthenon Capital Partners
Parthenon Capital Partners is a leading mid-market private
equity firm based in Boston and San Francisco. Parthenon utilizes
niche industry expertise and a deep execution team to invest in
growth companies in service industries. Parthenon seeks to be an
active and aligned partner to management, either through
recapitalization transactions or by backing new executives.
Parthenon has particular expertise in business services, financial
and insurance services and healthcare, but seeks any service,
technology or delivery business with a strong value proposition and
proprietary know-how. Parthenon's investment team has deep
experience in corporate strategy, capital markets and operations,
enabling the firm to pursue complex, multi-faceted value creation
opportunities. For more information, please visit
www.parthenoncapitalpartners.com.
About OPTrust
The OPTrust Private Markets Group (“PMG”) is the private
investment arm of OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest public pension
plans, serving almost 84,000 members and pensioners, and has over
C$13.7 billion in assets under management. PMG is responsible for
all of OPTrust’s private markets investing which includes both
private equity and infrastructure with total capital under
management of C$5.5 billion. PMG has offices in London and Toronto
and has a dedicated team of 23 investment professionals with
significant principal investing experience.
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