Contact Information: Contact: Investor Relations pkamdar@resourceamerica.com
Resource America's LEAF Financial Acquires the Business of Dolphin Capital Corp.
| Source: Resource America, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - November 26, 2007) - Resource America, Inc. (NASDAQ : REXI )
announced today that its commercial finance subsidiary, LEAF Financial
Corporation ("LEAF"), has significantly expanded its origination capability
and small business assets under management by entering into a definitive
agreement to acquire the business of Dolphin Capital Corp., an equipment
finance subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB. The total purchase price
of approximately $167 million includes a portfolio of small ticket leases
to be acquired by LEAF and investment partnerships managed by LEAF. In
addition, LEAF will retain the lease origination and management platform as
well as the highly experienced small ticket leasing team including senior
management, origination and operations personnel.
Under LEAF, Dolphin will continue its Missouri operations which are
expected to originate in excess of $100 million of additional lease assets
for LEAF investment vehicles in fiscal 2008. With the addition of Dolphin,
LEAF's assets under management will increase to nearly $1.7 billion and its
annual origination capacity to over $1 billion.
Dolphin Capital's roots date back to the early 1990s and it is one of the
nation's largest and most respected leasing companies, dedicated
exclusively to funding small ticket transactions from small businesses.
Crit DeMent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LEAF, commented that
"we have continued to build our business and search out quality assets in
this tremendously inefficient marketplace. Not only does this enhance our
origination capabilities, but our investment limited partners will benefit
from the quality of assets generated through this acquisition. We believe
that over the last year we have become one of the largest independent
commercial finance players focused on the small and middle ticket equipment
leasing business because of our unique ability to take advantage of
opportunities such as this."
Financing for this transaction will be provided by National City Bank.
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 ). LEAF was advised on this acquisition by Fairview Advisors,
LLC.
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 pkamdar@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.