Hugh Swandel, senior managing director of The Alta Group in Canada, announced the establishment of a $50 million facility for CLE Leasing, an independent provider of equipment leasing and financing to businesses across Canada.

TAO Asset Management (TAO) and its funding partners also had a role in the facility closing.
 
“The Alta Group provided critical support to CLE Leasing in all phases of preparation, identifying funding providers and negotiating facility terms,” said Luc Robitaille, president of CLE.   “Alta’s assistance and experience was a clear
benefit to us.”

“CLE’s strong financial and portfolio performance over many years was critical,” James Joyce, senior vice president at TAO Asset Management, said. “Their consistent results made this company a very desirable client for TAO and our partners.” 

Based in Quebec, CLE has been serving small and medium-sized companies since 1979, and has supported manufacturers in health, transportation, and the food service industry.  CLE is experiencing rapid growth, and this facility adds key diversification of funding sources along with a committed facility that provides certainty of funding into the future.

CLE is representative of many long-term Alta clients. “Alta was very impressed with the management strength and long-term financial performance of CLE,” stated Swandel, adding “CLE was well prepared to withstand the pressure of the recent recession and they are poised for significant additional growth.”

Alta initiated the transaction and served as exclusive financial advisor to CLE Leasing. The Alta Group is a global consulting firm with worldwide offices and an experienced merger and acquisition practice area composed of proven and experienced executives with prior experience in leading equipment leasing and finance companies. Established in 1992, The Alta Group also has practice areas in captive and vendor finance, professional development, and management consulting.