Engs Commercial Finance Closes $200MM Recapitalization



Engs Commercial Finance (ECF) said it closed a comprehensive $200 million equity and debt recapitalization to provide long-term growth capital and that it opened a Chicago office to expand its nationwide network. ECF, founded over 60 years ago, is an independent commercial equipment finance company that provides lease and financing solutions to small- and mid-sized customers in the trucking, trailer and related markets, predominantly on the West Coast.

ECF and John Engs, ECF’s principal shareholder, partnered with industry veterans Craig Weinewuth and Jim Freund and closed the strategic equity investment from an affiliate of Senator Investment Group, New York-based private investment firm.

Concurrent with the equity investment, the company has also entered into a new, long-term credit facility arranged by BMO Capital Markets and US Bank that will allow ECF to execute on its nationwide growth strategy.

“We are excited about joining forces with Craig, Jim and Senator since it will provide ECF with the expertise and balance sheet liquidity to expand our customer-focused model into a national platform focused on the transportation industry,” said Engs. “We are fully committed to maintaining the longstanding personal relationships ECF has established with its end-user customers, which we believe are fundamental to the company’s ongoing success. We look forward to leveraging the industry knowledge and contacts that our value-added partners will provide as we offer our comprehensive lease and loan product offering to a wider set of customers and vendors throughout the country.”

“ECF has an outstanding reputation as a knowledgeable, service-oriented lender committed to providing financing solutions to ensure its customers succeed,” stated Weinewuth. “We are thrilled to be partnering with John Engs who has built a very successful business and whose family has been providing dedicated solutions to the trucking industry for over half a century.”

He continued, “We look forward to expanding upon ECF’s success on the West Coast as we service customers on a national basis, all with a continued focus on maintaining ECF’s high levels of professionalism and customer service. In addition, we are particularly excited that John Engs will maintain a significant equity interest in the Company going forward and will continue in his day-to-day operating role with a continued focus on growing, servicing and interfacing with his existing end-user customers.”

Adelphi Capital, a Washington, DC-based merchant banking business with a focus on the transportation and logistics industries, worked with Senator and the management team to structure the partnership. Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson provided legal advice to Senator, and Zachary Scott and the Law Offices of Mark Beatty advised Engs and ECF on the recapitalization transaction.

The board of directors will include representatives of Senator as well as Tom Donohue, Jr. (Adelphi Capital’s founder), Engs and Weinewuth.


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