Infusion of Capital to Accelerate Merchants Goal of Bringing Disruptive Change to Commercial Vehicle Management
April 21, 2020 — Merchants Fleet today announced the company has secured $50 million in growth financing from Bain Capital Credit. The financing will enable Merchants Fleet to further accelerate its growth trajectory and mission of bringing disruptive change to the fleet management industry, which impacts over 3.2 million commercial cars and trucks.
“The fourth industrial revolution is pushing forward, being driven by societal and consumer shifts, and the fleet industry will see both evolutionary and revolutionary change,” said Brendan P. Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet. “Over the past couple of years, Merchants Fleet has been embracing this change, and bringing to market comprehensive, innovative, flexible and specialized offerings that have impacted our clients tremendously and resulted in significant growth for our company. Bain Capital Credit has a long track record of providing flexible and scalable solutions for financing growth strategies, and we look forward to partnering with them as we continue to lead the disruptive change facing commercial fleets across North America.”
Businesses in virtually every industry with fleets of commercial vehicles, from 1 to over 10,000, are being challenged to navigate the multiple driving forces behind the mobility movement which include connected vehicles, multi-modal transportation, efficiency requirements and data-driven intelligence. Merchants Fleet has positioned itself to disrupt the industry with a new FleetTech model that combines processes, technology platforms, pilot programs, and a network of strategic alliances to deliver both comprehensive and innovative solutions to their clients.
“We are excited to support Brendan and the Merchants Fleet team as they expand and broaden their leadership position in the rapidly growing fleet management industry,” said Olof Bergqvist, a Managing Director at Bain Capital Credit. “We believe Merchants Fleet is well-positioned to further differentiate itself in the marketplace through their technology-driven value proposition, innovative platform and customer-centric service offering. Bain Capital Credit looks forward to a lasting partnership with Merchants Fleet and their existing financing partners to help support the company’s thoughtfully constructed strategy.”
Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) served as the exclusive financial advisor and placement agent to Merchants Fleet.