Contact Information: Contact: Pamela Schreiber Investor Relations Resource America, Inc. 1845 Walnut Street, 10th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 546-5005
Resource America's LEAF Financial Corporation to Acquire $430 Million Leasing Portfolio From the FDIC
| Source: Resource America, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - October 29, 2007) - Resource America, Inc. (NASDAQ : REXI )
announces today that its commercial finance subsidiary, LEAF Financial
Corporation ("LEAF"), has been selected by the FDIC as the purchaser of the
approximately $430 million leasing portfolio of NetBank Business Finance,
the equipment leasing division of NetBank, based out of Columbia, South
Carolina. NetBank is currently being operated in receivership by the FDIC.
LEAF will acquire the portfolio on behalf of investment partnerships that
it manages at a discount. Financing for this acquisition will be provided
by Morgan Stanley Bank.
LEAF has entered into a definitive agreement with the FDIC to acquire the
portfolio and leasing business and expects to close the transaction in
early November 2007. The portfolio will include over 10,000 leases and
loans to small businesses throughout the United States. In addition, LEAF
intends to continue the lease origination and management platform in
Columbia and to retain what is one of the industry's most experienced small
ticket leasing teams, which will maintain its relationships with over 200
third party originators. After this acquisition, LEAF will manage over
$1.6 billion of commercial leases and finance assets for its own account,
individual and institutional investors. With this acquisition, LEAF
anticipates that it will have the ability to originate over $1 billion of
leasing and loan assets next year.
Jonathan Cohen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Resource America,
Inc., commented, "Resource America is excited to be taking advantage of the
dislocation in the credit markets and lack of liquidity by other players.
Resource is built on being an opportunistic investor and creating value;
this investment will allow LEAF to rise to the next level by adding quality
assets and people. The acquisition reflects Resource's recognition that
during the current turbulence in financial and credit markets, there are
opportunities to obtain high quality assets in distress situations, thus
creating excellent value for its own account and for its investors. LEAF's
scope and scale will allow it to operate more profitably."
LEAF Financial Corporation is a commercial finance and asset management
company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. LEAF's business model is to
originate small to middle ticket equipment leases and loans in a variety of
asset classes through five strategic business units. After origination,
LEAF manages the leases for its own account, institutions, and individual
investors through investment partnerships and other investment vehicles.
LEAF Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Resource America, Inc.
(NASDAQ : REXI ).
Resource America is a specialized asset management company that uses
industry specific expertise to generate and administer investment
opportunities for its own account and for outside investors in the
financial fund management, real estate and commercial finance sectors. For
more information please visit our website at www.resourceamerica.com or
contact Investor Relations at pschreiber@resourceamerica.com.
Certain matters discussed within this press release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Although Resource America, Inc. believes the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
expectations include financial performance, regulatory changes, changes in
local or national economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to
time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including quarterly
reports on Form 10Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K.