State Bank and Trust Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Bank Financial Corporation, announced today that it has purchased the equipment finance origination platform of Patriot Capital Corporation, a leading provider of equipment financing to the retail and commercial fueling industry.
Chris Santy, founder and president of Patriot Capital Corporation, will join State Bank as president of the newly created Patriot Finance Division. “I am excited to be joining State Bank and look forward to expanding our lending capabilities through the resources of a larger institution.” Santy said. “Our two companies align very well from a cultural 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.”
Patriot Capital Corporation is a privately owned company that finances fueling and related convenience store and commercial fueling equipment throughout the continental United States. Founded in 2000, Patriot has grown from a regional financing firm to the leading provider of equipment financing for equipment such as gas pumps, LED lighting, underground storage tanks and related equipment. Patriot’s customer base includes fuel jobbers, convenience store operators and commercial fueling sites.
“Combining the strength and power of State Bank with Patriot Capital’s fueling industry leadership enables Patriot to continue it’s mission of providing excellent service and products in the equipment finance space,” Santy continued.
“Equipment financing is a business we have long wanted to enter, and we have found a great fit with Patriot, one of the largest equipment lenders in the retail fueling industry,” said Tom Wiley, CEO of State Bank and Trust Company. “Patriot Capital Corp. has, under Chris Santy’s leadership, developed a nationwide footprint, being recognized in the industry for the strength of their sales and management teams, strong customer partnerships and customer focus. 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. In addition, we believe we can efficiently generate significant scale by leveraging the established Patriot Capital distribution platform with greater value through the utilization of our existing programs and products.”
In January 2015, Patriot Capital was awarded the “Best in the U.S.” 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.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
To learn more about State Bank, visit www.statebt.com.
To learn more about Patriot Capital Corporation, visit http://www.patriotcapitalcorp.com/
