The Alta Group announced it recently played a key role in a significant investment by Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd. (FGL) in Pacific Rim Capital, Inc. (PRC). Alta initiated this transaction and was the exclusive financial advisor to FGL.

FGL, headquartered in Tokyo, is a major Japanese lessor with assets of nearly $20 billion. The company made this investment as part of a strategy of promoting advancement into new areas through investment and collaboration with non-Japanese leasing companies. PRC is based in Irvine, CA, and is a leading independent equipment leasing company that primarily provides operating leases of material handling equipment in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

“FGL has been a long-time client of The Alta Group, and we are pleased that they selected us to explore investment opportunities in the U.S. market,” said Bruce Kropschot, Alta Senior Managing Director. “We identified a number of potential U.S. partners for them, and PRC was clearly the best fit for FGL’s objectives. Alta has also had a long relationship with PRC, and we have been very impressed with the company’s success and management under founders David Mirsky and Marc Mills. We believe that with FGL’s investment and the continued leadership of Mr. Mills and Mr. Mirsky, PRC is well-positioned for further growth.”

Jim Jackson, Alta Managing Director and Merger and Acquisition Advisory Practice leader, commented, “It is always gratifying for Alta to have helped secure an affiliation of two companies that should have a bright future together. Our client FGL recognizes that PRC’s leasing business is different from any of FGL’s businesses, and FGL intends to support the efforts of PRC’s current management to expand into new markets and access new clients while increasing financial strength.”

Kropschot added, “This is the 10th M&A transaction we have helped arrange with Japanese-owned equipment finance businesses over the years – nine with U.S. companies and one with a Canadian company. Japanese companies have been eager to expand in the U.S. market because the U.S. economy has been growing faster than the Japanese economy. Japanese equipment finance companies and banks continue to be good sources of capital for U.S. equipment leasing and finance businesses.”

For more on the deal, see the announcement from Pacific Rim Capital.