People’s United Bank acquiring Philadelphia finance company

People’s United Bank is acquiring Philadelphia-based Leaf Commercial Capital, one of the largest, independent commercial equipment finance companies in the U.S., with approximately $500 million of annual originations.

Under the deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, Bridgeport-based People’s United will acquire about $730 million of Leaf’s net investment lease and retain about $250 million in securitizations. Expected to close in the third quarter, the deal will provide the bank with $4 billion in commercial equipment financing assets, which would rank it as the nation”™s 16^th largest bank-owned equipment finance entity.

Leaf Chairman and CEO Crit DeMent and President and COO Miles Herman will remain with People’s after the deal closes, the bank said.

Since 2002, Leaf has financed over $5.8 billion for more than 243,000 customers nationwide and provides expertise and equipment finance solutions to a wide variety of vendors and end users. Leaf has approximately 250 employees and a call center in Orange County, California, as well as a sales and servicing facility in Moberly, Missouri.