Bank of Ann Arbor announced that it has acquired Ervin Leasing, a privately held national small-ticket equipment leasing and finance company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

Ervin Leasing is a subsidiary of parent company Ervin Industries. After successfully navigating the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, the company began to ramp up sales in 2010. However, Ervin Leasing’s funding sources, previously providing lines of credit in the range of $100 million, remained on the sidelines, leading to Ervin Industries’ decision to seek out a new owner that could provide funding for growth. After seeking proposals from banks and private equity firms, Bank of Ann Arbor was chosen as the successor to Ervin Industries as the new owner of Ervin Leasing.

“We are super excited about this opportunity to join forces with Ervin Leasing and further diversify our product offerings,” said Timothy G. Marshall, Bank of Ann Arbor’s president & CEO. “Bank of Ann Arbor has a substantial level of liquidity to fund the anticipated growth of the newly acquired leasing company. Having done business with Ervin Leasing for over ten years, we know the company very well and admire the strong and experienced management team and its seasoned employees who will all join our Bank of Ann Arbor team.”

“We chose Bank of Ann Arbor as the new owner of Ervin Leasing based on our strong desire to affiliate with a company who would hire all of our local staff, has a similar culture that is growth oriented and a great place to work, and has an impeccable reputation,” said Bruce Gaffney, president and CEO of Ervin Leasing. “We also have maintained a very strong credit culture over the history of the company which is similar to the credit culture at Bank of Ann Arbor. I am confident that our companies will be a great fit for years to come.”

To read Bank of Ann Arbor’s full news release click here.