Huntington acquires Macquarie

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Huntington Bancshares Inc. on Tuesday announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Huntington National Bank to purchase Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Macquarie Equipment Finance Inc.

With approximately $500 million of annual originations, MEF-US is the largest stand-alone, vendor- independent provider of specialized technology financing with customer-centric asset-management services in the U.S.

Huntington will acquire Macquarie Equipment Finance’s U.S. business from its parent company — Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Group Ltd. Huntington will acquire about $900 million of assets and assume approximately $630 million of debt, securitizations and other liabilities, according to the agreement between the two parties.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Huntington’s earnings in the first year and is anticipated to be completed by March 31.

“The acquisition of Macquarie Equipment Finance is an important expansion of Huntington’s current capabilities, adding a national technology and health care platform to help drive our ongoing growth,” said Stephen D. Steinour, Huntington Bancshares chairman, president and CEO.

The transition is expected to be “seamless” for customers who will continue to interface within the converting Macquarie Equipment Finance workforce, under the same executive management team leadership.

This acquisition will add more than 165 jobs to Huntington.

Huntington’s purchase of Macquarie Equipment Finance is the company’s latest investment within Michigan, after the September completion of a 24-branch, $750 million deposit acquisition from Bank of America.