CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT Group Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Direct Capital Corporation, a provider of financing to small and mid-sized businesses. The transaction will expand CIT’s small business and middle market lending and equipment leasing capabilities and will allow Direct Capital’s highly experienced team of professionals to offer CIT’s broad range of products and services to its customers.
As part of the acquisition, Christopher J. Broom, Co-founder and Chairman of Direct Capital, and James P. Broom, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Capital, will continue to lead the business. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter following the satisfaction of regulatory requirements and contractual conditions to closing. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Through its customer-centric approach and unique value-added technology platform, Direct Capital has established itself as a leader in providing small and mid-sized businesses fast, flexible and affordable financing,” said Nelson J. Chai, President of CIT Group Inc., Chairman and CEO of CIT Bank. “Direct Capital’s proprietary online lending platform, LendEdge, will complement our existing small business and mid-market customer offerings as we continue to provide financing to these important sectors of the U.S. economy. I look forward to working with Chris, Jim and the entire Direct Capital team and building on their success.”
Christopher J. Broom said, “We are excited to join the CIT family, which will allow us the opportunity to build upon our established business model of providing small and mid-sized businesses access to the capital they need to grow and prosper. CIT understands the importance of customer service and has built a reputation over the past 100 years of serving these sectors.”
Established in 1993, Direct Capital is a financial technology company that delivers financial solutions for small and medium sized businesses, franchisors, and equipment and technology sellers. The company is headquartered in Portsmouth, N.H. and operates offices in New York, California, and Georgia.