In Brief: BB&T in Deal to Buy Equipment Financer

BB&T Corp. said Monday that it is buying a Wisconsin company to expand its speciality business of financing lawn-care equipment.

The $31.5 billion-asset banking company is acquiring Dealers Credit Inc. of Menomonee Falls, Wis., which makes loans for such equipment. The price was not disclosed.

Seven-year-old DCI has more than 11,000 commercial, agricultural, consumer, and municipal customers, primarily in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

DCI would be rolled into BB&T's Sheffield Financial Corp., which specializes in loans to commercial lawn-care companies in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Tennessee.

"DCI's expertise with retail dealers and Sheffield's focus on manufacturers will make BB&T a nationwide leader in lawn-care equipment financing," said W. Kenneth Chalk, BB&T senior executive vice president and group lending manager.

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