TORONTO and NEW
YORK, Oct. 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Chesswood Group
Limited (TSX: CHW) ("Chesswood"), a specialty finance company with
40 years of experience in the commercial equipment finance market,
and Wafra Inc. ("Wafra"), a global alternative investment firm,
today announced an agreement forming a joint venture partnership
(the "Joint Venture") between Chesswood subsidiary Pawnee Leasing
Corporation ("Pawnee") and certain funds managed by Wafra ("Wafra
Funds").
The Joint Venture will invest in equipment finance leases and
loans originated by Chesswood subsidiaries Pawnee and Tandem
Finance Ltd. ("Tandem"), targeting up to $1
billion in total acquisitions. Chesswood and its operating
subsidiaries will service the assets on behalf of the Joint
Venture. Both Wafra Funds and Pawnee will contribute equity to the
Joint Venture, with Wafra Funds owning up to 95%. In connection
with the formation of the Joint Venture, Chesswood has agreed to
issue to Wafra Funds warrants to purchase 2,067,250 Chesswood
common shares at a $10 exercise
price, subject to a vesting schedule tied to the closing of
acquisitions by the Joint Venture.
The Joint Venture will enable Chesswood's subsidiaries to
continue growing originations to meet market demand and to evaluate
new opportunities that leverage Chesswood's infrastructure and
decades of experience and success in the commercial finance
sector.
"We are pleased to partner with the management of Chesswood,
Pawnee and Tandem and look forward to growing the Joint Venture
meaningfully," said Edward Tsai,
Managing Director at Wafra. "As long-term oriented investors, we
seek to form durable partnerships with experienced industry leaders
like Chesswood. We recognize the attractive fundamentals of
equipment finance, adding it to Wafra's portfolio of high-quality
real-asset-backed investments."
"We are excited to embark on a long-term partnership with Wafra
focused on the expansion of Chesswood's business in the United States. Wafra and Chesswood share a
common vision of the opportunities for growth in the US asset-based
finance market that leverages the infrastructure and know-how of
both organizations. In addition, this agreement builds on
Chesswood's strategic focus to grow Chesswood's Asset Management
business and increase fee-based revenue," said Ryan Marr, President & CEO of
Chesswood.
The issuance of the warrants is subject to receiving conditional
approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The terms of the warrants
(other than the exercise price) will be included in a subsequent
news release.
About Wafra
Wafra is a global alternative investment manager with
approximately $31 billion of assets
under management across a range of alternative assets, including
real assets, real estate, and strategic partnerships. By providing
flexible and accretive capital solutions and focusing on long-term
partnerships, Wafra aligns and partners with high quality asset
owners, companies and management teams. Headquartered in
New York, Wafra has additional
offices in London, Kuwait, and Bermuda. For more information, please
visit www.wafra.com.
About Chesswood Group
Limited
Chesswood Group Limited is a Toronto,
Canada based holding company whose subsidiaries engage in
the business of specialty finance (including equipment finance
throughout North America and
vehicle finance and legal sector finance in Canada), as well as the origination and
management of private credit alternatives for North American
investors.
Based in Toronto, Canada,
Chesswood Group Limited's shares trade on the TSX under the symbol
CHW. For more information, please visit www.chesswoodgroup.com.
NO STOCK EXCHANGE, SECURITIES COMMISSION OR OTHER REGULATORY
AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN.
SOURCE Chesswood Group Limited
