Engs Commercial Finance Co., one of the nation’s oldest and largest independent commercial finance companies, and Connext Financial, Ltd., a leading lender in Industrial Equipment finance, jointly announced today that they have entered into definitive agreement under which Engs Commercial Finance Co. acquired all the outstanding shares of Connext Financial, Ltd.

Craig Weinewuth, President & CEO, Engs Commercial Finance Co. commented, “This acquisition, along with our recent launch of Engs Insurance Agency, advances our efforts to position Engs Commercial Finance Co. as a well-diversified and leading independent commercial finance company. The combination of our nationally recognized Transportation finance vertical and our new Industrial Equipment finance vertical will generate $500,000,000 in annual lease and loan originations and expand the Engs footing as one of the largest independent commercial finance companies in the U.S.” Mr. Weinewuth continued, “We are excited to add Connext to the Engs platform and value Context’s reputation as industrial equipment experts, their culture of providing very high level of service to their vendors, and their mindset of providing competitive and innovative products that help their vendors sell more equipment more efficiently.”

Ken Wuethrich, President of Connext Financial added, “We share the same principles and approaches to the market with the Engs team which will allow us to achieve a seamless and quick integration. We look forward to leveraging the strong national brand of Engs, their service platform and their strong balance sheet to help us grow our presence in the Industrial Equipment space.”

Along with this acquisition, Connext will be rebranded “Engs Commercial Finance Co, - Industrial Equipment Division”, and will continue to be led by Ken Wuethrich, Managing Director, and David Stearns, Senior Vice President.

Jim Freund, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Engs Commercial Finance Co., commented, “The Connext team will remain in place, and while the name will change from Connext to Engs, our new vendor partners will continue to receive the same level of professional service they have been accustomed to over the past 20 years under Connext. We will work closely with the Connext vendors and customers to ensure a smooth transition and, and we welcome our new friends to the Engs family.”

The Alta Group served as financial advisor to Connext.