MB Financial Buys Equipment-Leasing Business

MB Financial Bank in Chicago has purchased Celtic Leasing, a privately held equipment-leasing company.

Celtic, based in Irvine, Calif., provides leasing services to midsize companies. It specializes in the health care, legal, technology and manufacturing industries. In recent years, its lease originations have ranged from $75 million to $100 million on an annual basis, MB Financial Bank, a unit of the $9.5 billion-asset MB Financial (MBFI), said Friday.

Celtic's chief executive, Todd Meyer, and his management team will continue to lead the company, which will operate as a subsidiary of MB Financial Bank.

"Combining Celtic's many strengths, including a talented staff, health care expertise and national reach, with MB Financial Bank's funding and leasing industry knowledge should enhance the ability of both companies to profitably and effectively provide client-centered leasing solutions," Mitchell Feiger, chief executive of MB Financial Bank, said in a news release.

The purchase price was not disclosed. The all-cash transaction closed on Friday, and the acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to MB Financial's 2013 earnings.

A growing list of banks, including BB&T Corp. (BBT), Wells Fargo (WFC) and U.S. Bancorp (USB), have bought a string of niche business, including insurance, investment and institutional trust firms, this year as traditional bank M&A has remained lower than expectations.

Additionally, a number of banks have specifically bulked up in the area of equipment leasing and financing. The Bank of Birmingham in Michigan and Taylor Capital Group (TAYC) in Rosemont, Ill., among others, expanded into equipment financing to boost their bottom lines.