State Bank buys petroleum equipment finance specialist

State Bank and Trust Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Bank Financial Corporation, has announced that it has purchased the equipment finance origination platform of Patriot Capital Corporation, a leading provider of equipment financing to the retail petroleum industry. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Equipment financing is a business we have long wanted to enter, and we have found a great fit with Patriot Capital, one of the largest equipment lenders in the retail fueling industry. We believe this acquisition is an attractive use of capital that will broaden our asset generating capabilities through additional growth and diversification of our loan portfolio,” said Tom Wiley, CEO of State Bank and Trust Company.

“In addition, we believe we can efficiently generate significant scale by leveraging the established Patriot Capital distribution platform, creating greater value through the utilization of our existing programs and products,” Wiley added.

Patriot Capital Corporation is a privately owned company that was founded in 2000. The company has 17 employees and is based in Atlanta, Georgia, which is also home to State Bank and Trust Company.

In January 2015, Patriot Capital was awarded the “Best in the US” honor as the nation’s best equipment financing company by the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), which is a federation of 48 state and regional trade associations representing approximately 8,000 independent petroleum marketers nationwide.

Chris Santy, founder and president of Patriot Capital, will join State Bank as president of the newly created Patriot Finance Division. “Our two companies align very well from a cultural and philosophical perspective. We believe the strength and power of State Bank with the industry knowledge of Patriot Capital will help make us a more formidable competitor in the equipment finance space,” Santy said.

The Alta Group served as a financial advisor to Patriot Capital Corporation and Bruce Kropschot, senior managing director and mergers and acquisitions advisory practice leader for Alta, commented: “An increasing number of banks have become attracted to the additional commercial loan volume that can be achieved through an equipment financing business.”