Parthenon Capital Partners Acquires White River Capital
Search

Parthenon Capital Partners Acquires White River Capital

Parthenon Capital Partners has acquired White River Capital, a sub-prime auto finance company.  OPTrust, a limited partner of Parthenon, will co-invest in the transaction.

White River Capital is the holding company for Coastal Credit, a sub-prime auto finance company that acquires and services auto receivables originated at franchised and independent dealerships which have entered into contracts with purchasers of typically used, but some new, cars and light trucks. Coastal Credit then services the receivables it acquires.  The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Virginia Beach, VA (www.coastalcreditllc.com). 

“This transaction is the culmination of a multi-year search for the right partnership in the sub-prime auto finance sector. In partnership with Parthenon, we believe the Coastal team—both organically and through acquisitions—can extend its national reach and continue its impressive growth, while maintaining its industry-leading underwriting discipline,” said Brian Golson, a Managing Partner at Parthenon. 

Parthenon Capital invests from $20 million to $80 million in middle-market companies with enterprise values of $50 million to $500 million and EBITDAs greater than $10 million (lower EBITDAs are considered for high growth companies).  Sectors of interest include financial and insurance services, healthcare, business and government services, technology-enabled services, and distribution & logistics.  The firm has approximately $2 billion of capital under management and has offices in Boston and San Francisco (www.parthenoncapital.com). 

“We are very excited to partner with Parthenon given their knowledge of the auto finance industry combined with their track record of helping companies grow. We have developed a shared vision for Coastal’s continued growth and disciplined industry approach and have already begun to make significant progress towards our goals,” said Bill McKnight, Coastal Credit’s President and CEO. 

OPTrust is one of Canada’s largest public pension plans, serving almost 84,000 members and pensioners, and has over C$13.7 billion in assets under management. OPTrust has offices in London and Toronto and has a team of 23 investment professionals with significant principal investing experience (www.optrust.com). 

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-15-13

To search in site, type your keyword and hit enter