Marlin Business Services entered into a forward flow sale agreement with Varadero Capital, an alternative asset management firm, to sell up to $300 million in equipment leases and loans to be originated by Marlin.

Jeffrey Hilzinger, president and CEO of Marlin, said, “The primary purpose of this arrangement is to expand Marlin’s ability to provide equipment financing to small businesses that are not currently served by our existing finance programs. Our partnership with Varadero diversifies our funding sources and provides us with substantial new lending capacity. And most importantly, it strengthens our competitive position in the small business financing market by expanding our credit capacity.

“In Varadero, we have found a partner with significant experience in small business credit, data analytics and structuring. Together we have developed a program which aligns the interests of our two firms and provides much needed credit extension into an underserved sector of the small business community.”

“We are excited to begin this new relationship with Marlin,” said Fernando Guerrero, managing partner and chief investment officer of Varadero. “Over the past 20 years, Marlin has built an exceptional business, with a strong vision of enabling the growth of small businesses and we look forward to continuing to grow and evolve our relationship with Marlin in the future.”

“Our goal is to become a single source of equipment financing for our partners across a wide range of products, transaction sizes and credit bands,” said Mark Scardigli, chief sales officer of Marlin. “Our partners tell us that they want to be able to work with a single financing partner for all of their small business customers. While Marlin has long held a leading position in providing financing to small businesses, this arrangement will allow us to expand our credit capacity to help us finance equipment purchases for both well-established and less-established businesses, enabling us to further strengthen and grow our relationships with our partners and small business customers.”

BRG Capital Advisors served as the exclusive advisor and Dechert acted as legal counsel to Marlin Business Bank. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel for Varadero.