Peoples Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoples Bancorp, completed its previously announced acquisition of Vantage Financial, a provider of equipment financing headquartered in Excelsior, MN.

In February, Peoples Bank entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vantage Financial for total cash consideration of $54 million.

Vantage Financial is now a subsidiary of Peoples Bank. As a subsidiary, Vantage Financial will continue to operate under its current brand name. William Foudray, co-founder and CEO of Vantage Financial, will continue to lead the company.

“We are excited to welcome Bill and his highly talented team to Peoples and look forward to Vantage continuing its impressive track record,” Chuck Sulerzyski, president and CEO of Peoples Bank, said. “The addition of Vantage to the Peoples suite of product offerings will allow us to build upon our recent success with our North Star Leasing acquisition while also becoming a top 100 U.S. leasing business based on combined assets.”

“My team and I are thrilled with the opportunity to partner with Chuck and the Peoples team. We believe that the combination of our intense focus on achieving above average risk-adjusted returns along with Peoples’ balance sheet will enable Vantage to accelerate on its track record of profitable growth,” Foudray said. “The increased capabilities and resources for Vantage will benefit our clients, business partners and employees.”

Vantage Financial offers mid-ticket equipment leases, primarily for information technology equipment across an array of industries, and had lease assets of approximately $147 million as of Dec. 31, 2021. The company’s lease originations have grown by an average of 25% annually from 2016 to 2021. Vantage Financial’s portfolio is comprised of more than 1,000 leases with an average amount financed at origination of approximately $260,000.