Laurentian Bank of Canada reached a definitive agreement under which a subsidiary of the bank has agreed to acquire Northpoint Commercial Finance, a U.S. and Canadian inventory finance lender with a portfolio of approximately C$1.2 billion ($880 million).

The transaction is expected to close before the end of fiscal 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory notifications and approvals.

The bank believes Northpoint Commercial Finance, which was founded in 2012, is one of only a few diversified inventory finance companies that provides the scale needed to serve North American manufacturers and their dealer networks.

“We are delighted to announce this acquisition that will increase the proportion of revenue generated by commercial activities within the bank mix, which is expected to improve its overall profitability,” said Francois Desjardins, president and CEO of Laurentian Bank of Canada. “We continue to make excellent progress on our transformation plan initiatives, including, among others, the optimization of our retail banking activities and the development of our core banking system, the backbone of our digital offer.”

“This acquisition is an excellent strategic fit with our equipment finance subsidiary, LBC Capital, resulting in an attractive end-to-end equipment finance platform. It will broaden our Canadian offering and create a U.S. presence, an important customer attribute for manufacturers and dealers looking for a single North American point of service,” added Stéphane Therrien, executive vice president, personal and commercial banking at Laurentian Bank. “Northpoint team members led by Chief Executive Officer, Dan Radley, have years of experience in inventory financing, unique expertise and strong client relationships with leading companies. We are very happy to welcome them as they join the team under the leadership of Éric Provost, senior vice president, commercial banking at Laurentian Bank and president of LBC Capital.”

The bank believes this acquisition will be accretive to its earnings per share in the first full year of operation and by approximately 4% in 2019. Based on the anticipated assets on closing and the related equity financing, it is expected the bank’s Basel III Common Equity Tier 1 ratio would be maintained within the guided 7.8% to 8.2% range. The bank plans to finance the acquisition through a C$225 million ($165.7 million) subscription receipts equity financing and existing balance sheet liquidity.