Marlin Business Services in Mount Laurel, N.J., will become privately owned after agreeing to be sold to funds managed by HPS Investment Partners.
Marlin, the parent of the $929 million-asset Marlin Business Bank, said in a press release Monday that the HPS-related funds will buy it out for $282 million, based on its shares outstanding on Feb. 26.
As part of the transaction, Marlin Business Bank would “cease operations as a bank,” the release said. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
HPS has $68 billion of assets under management.
The sale “will deliver significant value to our shareholders,” Jeffrey Hilzinger, Marlin’s president and CEO, said in the release.
“After successfully executing the transformation of Marlin into a broad provider of credit products and services to small businesses over the last five years, and effectively navigating through the uncertainties of the pandemic, we believe that this transaction reflects Marlin’s intrinsic value and is the best opportunity to maximize shareholder value,” Hilzinger added.
J.P. Morgan Securities and Mayer Brown advised Marlin Business Services. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised HPS.
