Element Financial Closes CoActiv Capital Partners Acquisition

Finance asset portfolio grows to $1.4 billion

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Element Financial Corporation (TSX: EFN) ("Element" or the "Company"), Canada's leading independent equipment finance company, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of 100% of the shares of Horsham, Pennsylvania-based CoActiv Capital Partners, Inc. ("CoActiv") from Marubeni America Corporation and Marubeni Corporation (collectively "Marubeni") for aggregate consideration of approximately $300 million, including repayment of debt to Marubeni (the "Acquisition").

With the completion of the CoActiv acquisition, Element has increased its finance asset portfolio from approximately $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion.

The approximately $300 million funding required to complete the Acquisition was satisfied through a combination of cash and approximately $230 million advanced under new securitization and related financing arrangements for the acquired finance assets. As part of the closing of the Acquisition, Element, CoActiv and CoActiv's Canadian subsidiary entered into arrangements with affiliates of a Canadian Schedule I bank providing for the securitization of substantially all of CoActiv's finance assets.

Barclays and BMO Capital Markets acted as financial advisors to Element in connection with the Acquisition and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP acted as legal counsel.

About Element Financial Corporation
With total assets of approximately $1.5 billion, Element Financial Corporation is Canada's leading independent equipment finance company. Element operates nationally in three verticals of the equipment finance market - Element Capital provides large ticket equipment leasing, Element Finance serves the mid-ticket equipment finance market and Element Fleet provides vehicle fleet leasing and management solutions through the Company's TLS Fleet Management division.

Forward Looking Statements

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Element and its business.  Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of Element's management.  In some cases the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release, the integration of CoActiv into Element following completion of the Acquisition and any synergies related thereto, and the anticipated growth of the CoActiv and Element business, may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, including risks regarding the equipment finance industry, economic factors and the equity markets generally and many other factors beyond the control of Element.  No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed.  Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information.  Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Element undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE: Element Financial Corporation

John Sadler  
Senior Advisor 
[phone] ext. 313 
[email protected]  

Michel Béland
Chief Financial Officer
[phone] ext. 225
[email protected]