Axos acquires industrial equipment lender

Core Insights - Axos Bank is acquiring Verdant Commercial Capital for $43.5 million, enhancing its equipment leasing business and aiming for better risk-adjusted returns [1][2]. Company Overview - Verdant Commercial Capital specializes in lending to the industrial and manufacturing sectors, with approximately $1.1 billion in loans and leases [2]. - The company offers various types of equipment finance leases ranging from $50,000 to $5 million [2][3]. Strategic Rationale - The acquisition is expected to provide Axos Bank with increased scale and profitability in the equipment leasing sector [2][4]. - Axos Bank plans to leverage Verdant's specialization in vendor-based equipment leasing to cross-sell commercial deposits and floorplan lending across multiple industry verticals [4]. Financial Projections - The transaction is anticipated to be accretive to earnings per share by approximately 2% to 3% in fiscal 2026 and 5% to 6% in fiscal 2027 [4]. - Axos will pay a 10% premium on Verdant's book value at closing, with potential performance-based cash considerations for the seller if Verdant achieves a return exceeding 15% [6]. Recent Activity - This acquisition marks Axos Bank's first purchase since December 2023, following its acquisition of two loan pools from the FDIC totaling $1.25 billion [7].