North Mill Equipment Finance (NMEF) completed the acquisition of substantially all of the equipment finance portfolio of Midland States Bancorp.
With the addition of the Midland portfolio, NMEF continues to expand its scale and diversification across the equipment finance market, bringing total gross receivables under management to nearly $3 billion. NMEF partnered with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) for this transaction, which underscores the strong institutional demand for high-performing commercial finance assets originated and managed by NMEF. NMEF will work with Orion First, a Concord company, to continue sub-servicing certain aspects of the Midland portfolio, ensuring continuity and excellence for customers.
“This transaction marks a strategic success for all parties and underscores NMEF’s strength in sourcing, structuring, and executing complex transactions that deliver meaningful value to our stakeholders.” said David C. Lee, Chairman and CEO of NMEF. “Completing the acquisitions of both the Midland portfolio and Pawnee in 2025 is a remarkable accomplishment—either one alone would have made this an exceptional year.”
“The Midland portfolio acquisition and institutional funding partnerships with the likes of Oaktree further demonstrate our disciplined approach to capital deployment and portfolio management,” said Mark Bonanno, President and Chief Revenue Officer of NMEF. “By combining the Midland portfolio with our established funding channels, we were able to unlock significant economic value through both gain-on-sale income and recurring servicing revenue.
“The coordination between our team and Oaktree was exceptional,” said Tom Lyle, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “This was a highly structured transaction that required speed, trust, and precision. We are proud of the collaborative effort that brought it to a successful close and look forward to welcoming those former Midland employees who will be joining the NMEF family.”
This transaction continues to expand NMEF’s existing funding relationship with Oaktree. “Oaktree’s experience providing liquidity solutions for banks, familiarity with the equipment finance space, and excellent working relationship with North Mill’s team, allowed us to complete this compelling transaction” said Rana Mitra, Managing Director for Oaktree’s Asset-Backed Finance platform. “Oaktree will continue to work with trusted institutional origination and servicing partners like North Mill to generate differentiated, attractive asset-backed investment opportunities for our clients”, said Brendan Beer, Portfolio Manager for Oaktree’s Asset-Backed Finance and Structured Credit strategy.
Stephens Inc. served as financial advisor to Midland. Macquarie Capital served as financial advisor to NMEF on its partnership with Oaktree for this transaction. Truist Bank and Deutsche Bank AG provided debt financing for the portfolio acquisition. Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP served as legal counsel to Midland, Moore & Van Allen PLLC served as legal counsel to NMEF, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal counsel for Oaktree, and Morgan Lewis and Bockius LLP served as counsel for the banks.
