In the Marketplace

Arctic Cat Inc. of Minneapolis, MN, has entered into an agreement with GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance for it to become the exclusive provider of floorplan financing for Arctic Cat's U.S. dealers. The new multi-year financing program will replace Arctic Cat's current financing agreement with Textron Financial Corporation, which had previously announced its intent to exit the dealer floorplan business.

Michael Witt of West Des Moines, IA, has opened a law office focusing exclusively on equipment leasing and finance. Formerly managing counsel at Wells Fargo & Co. and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Advanta Leasing Corp., Witt is licensed to practice law in Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is able to provide document and general counseling services on a nationwide basis. His firm offers a variety of services, including, among others: conducting reviews or litigation audits on existing lease and loan document forms; drafting and updating document forms; negotiating and documenting individual transactions; negotiating and documenting vendor and other third-party programs; law and regulatory compliance audits and counseling; product development risk counseling.

CapitalSource Inc. of Chevy Chase, MD, has announced that Laird Boulden will be joining the company as President of Corporate Asset Finance. He will lead an asset finance group, which will enhance the company's historically strong asset-based lending business by focusing on equipment secured loans. Boulden comes to CapitalSource from Tygris Asset Finance, where he recently served as President. Previously Boulden held senior executive roles at the Citizens Banks/Royal Bank of Scotland and Heller Financial, where he founded/co-founded their respective equipment finance groups. Stephen J. O'Connor and Robert S. Wille will be among the group he is bringing to CapitalSource. Both have worked with Boulden for many years and share his extensive equipment-based lending experience.

Canadian Western Bank has signed an agreement with the majority shareholder and the executive management of National Leasing Group Inc. to acquire 100% of the common shares of the company in exchange for cash and common shares of CWB. Founded over 30 years ago, National Leasing specializes in commercial equipment leasing and is the largest privately held lessor for small to mid-size transactions in Canada. Its current lease portfolio is comprised of over 58,000 lease agreements with a collective book value of over $650 million. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for National Leasing of $130 million and represents a multiple of approximately 9.8 times the company's fiscal 2009 operating net income, or an 84% premium over book value. National Leasing will continue to operate as a stand-alone business and will maintain its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has released its statistics for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, showing that bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts for fiscal year 2009 totaled 1,402,816, up 34.5 % over the 1,042,993 filings reported for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008. Significantly, business filings totaled 58,721, up 52% from the 38,651 business filings in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008. Non-business filings totaled 1,344,095, up 34% from the 1,004,342 non-business bankruptcy filings in September 2008.

People's United Financial, Inc., the holding company for People's United Bank, the largest bank headquartered in New England, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Financial Federal Corporation in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $738 million. Financial Federal is a financial services company providing collateralized lending, financing and leasing services nationwide to small and medium sized businesses in the general construction, road and infrastructure construction and repair, road transportation and refuse industries.

Although completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the shareholders of Financial Federal, People's United expects the transaction to be significantly accretive to operating earnings in 2010 and to have an IRR greater than 20%. People's United identified Financial Federal as a valuable complement to its existing business lines, particularly its equipment financing subsidiary, People's Capital and Leasing. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by both companies' boards of directors, at closing Financial Federal Corporation shareholders will receive $11.27 in cash and one share of People's United common stock.

Moritt Hock Hamroff & Horowitz LLP has announced that Karen Wachs has joined the firm of counsel in its Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy Practice Groups. She will reside in the firm's Manhattan office. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Wachs was a partner at the New Jersey law firm of Berman, Sauter, Record and Jardim, P.C., where she concentrated her practice in commercial litigation, construction litigation, commercial law and corporate law.

Arctic Cat Inc. of Minneapolis, MN, has entered into an agreement with GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance for it to become the exclusive provider of floorplan financing for Arctic Cat's U.S. dealers. The new multi-year financing program will replace Arctic Cat's current financing agreement with Textron Financial Corporation, which had previously announced its intent to exit the dealer floorplan business.

Michael Witt of West Des Moines, IA, has opened a law office focusing exclusively on equipment leasing and finance. Formerly managing counsel at Wells Fargo & Co. and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Advanta Leasing Corp., Witt is licensed to practice law in Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is able to provide document and general counseling services on a nationwide basis. His firm offers a variety of services, including, among others: conducting reviews or litigation audits on existing lease and loan document forms; drafting and updating document forms; negotiating and documenting individual transactions; negotiating and documenting vendor and other third-party programs; law and regulatory compliance audits and counseling; product development risk counseling.

CapitalSource Inc. of Chevy Chase, MD, has announced that Laird Boulden will be joining the company as President of Corporate Asset Finance. He will lead an asset finance group, which will enhance the company's historically strong asset-based lending business by focusing on equipment secured loans. Boulden comes to CapitalSource from Tygris Asset Finance, where he recently served as President. Previously Boulden held senior executive roles at the Citizens Banks/Royal Bank of Scotland and Heller Financial, where he founded/co-founded their respective equipment finance groups. Stephen J. O'Connor and Robert S. Wille will be among the group he is bringing to CapitalSource. Both have worked with Boulden for many years and share his extensive equipment-based lending experience.

Canadian Western Bank has signed an agreement with the majority shareholder and the executive management of National Leasing Group Inc. to acquire 100% of the common shares of the company in exchange for cash and common shares of CWB. Founded over 30 years ago, National Leasing specializes in commercial equipment leasing and is the largest privately held lessor for small to mid-size transactions in Canada. Its current lease portfolio is comprised of over 58,000 lease agreements with a collective book value of over $650 million. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for National Leasing of $130 million and represents a multiple of approximately 9.8 times the company's fiscal 2009 operating net income, or an 84% premium over book value. National Leasing will continue to operate as a stand-alone business and will maintain its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has released its statistics for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, showing that bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts for fiscal year 2009 totaled 1,402,816, up 34.5 % over the 1,042,993 filings reported for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008. Significantly, business filings totaled 58,721, up 52% from the 38,651 business filings in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008. Non-business filings totaled 1,344,095, up 34% from the 1,004,342 non-business bankruptcy filings in September 2008.

People's United Financial, Inc., the holding company for People's United Bank, the largest bank headquartered in New England, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Financial Federal Corporation in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $738 million. Financial Federal is a financial services company providing collateralized lending, financing and leasing services nationwide to small and medium sized businesses in the general construction, road and infrastructure construction and repair, road transportation and refuse industries.

Although completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the shareholders of Financial Federal, People's United expects the transaction to be significantly accretive to operating earnings in 2010 and to have an IRR greater than 20%. People's United identified Financial Federal as a valuable complement to its existing business lines, particularly its equipment financing subsidiary, People's Capital and Leasing. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by both companies' boards of directors, at closing Financial Federal Corporation shareholders will receive $11.27 in cash and one share of People's United common stock.

Moritt Hock Hamroff & Horowitz LLP has announced that Karen Wachs has joined the firm of counsel in its Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy Practice Groups. She will reside in the firm's Manhattan office. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Wachs was a partner at the New Jersey law firm of Berman, Sauter, Record and Jardim, P.C., where she concentrated her practice in commercial litigation, construction litigation, commercial law and corporate law.