NEW YORK and KINGWOOD, Texas -- Private-equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC has acquired Ascentium Capital LLC, an independent equipment finance company for the retail fueling, convenience store and other industries.
Ascentium Capital provides vendor financing by partnering with manufacturers, distributors, resellers and franchise organizations to finance the equipment and technology purchases of their small-business customers. The company also has a direct-to-end customer business.
Tom Depping, CEO of Ascentium Capital, has agreed to roll over his entire equity ownership stake in the business and continue to lead the company.
“We are pleased by the endorsement of our business model and growth prospects demonstrated by Warburg Pincus’ acquisition,” Depping said. “The increased access to capital combined with the expertise Warburg Pincus has in the specialty finance sector will benefit our equipment vendors, small-business customers and our employees.”
Arjun Thimmaya, managing director for Warburg Pincus, said, “We see a compelling market opportunity to continue to build Ascentium to become a multiproduct capital provider to small businesses through both organic growth and complementary acquisitions.”
As a direct lender, Kingwood, Texas-based Ascentium Capital specializes in providing a broad range of financing, leasing and working capital loans. It has assets of more than $1.1 billion. Since its founding in 2011, the company has provided more than $2 billion in financing, it said, and since 2012, its originations have grown at a 51% annualized growth rate.
Warburg Pincus, New York, has more than $40 billion in private-equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 120 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Founded in 1966, it has raised 15 private-equity funds, which have invested more than $58 billion in more than 760 companies in more than 40 countries.
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