PE Deals

IOU Financial to be acquired by Neuberger, Palos and Fintech

Based in Montreal, IOU Financial is an online lender to small businesses.

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  • The investor group will acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of IOU, other than shares to be re‐invested by Neuberger, Palos, FinTech and representatives of management
  • The all-cash consideration is C$0.22 per share
  • The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023

IOU Financial, a Montreal-based online lender to small businesses, has agreed to be acquired by a vehicle owned by Neuberger Berman, Palos Capital and Fintech Ventures.

Under the terms of the deal, the investor group will acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of IOU, other than shares to be re‐invested by Neuberger, Palos, FinTech and certain representatives of company management, for an all-cash consideration of C$0.22 per share.

The consideration represents an 83.3 percent premium to the closing price of the shares, and a 90.6 percent premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price of the shares, as on July 13, the last trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the arrangement.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to relevant regulatory approval.

IOU Financial is a wholesale lender that provides quick and easy access to growth capital to small businesses through a network of preferred brokers across the US and Canada.

Robert Gloer, president and CEO of IOU, said in a statement, “We are excited about this vote of confidence from our business partner Neuberger Berman and our long-term shareholders, and about the prospects for taking this partnership to the next level by developing new market opportunities together.”

Based in New York, Neuberger Berman is an investment firm that manages a range of strategies, including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds. It managed $436 billion of client assets as of March 31.

Palos Capital, based in Montreal, is a boutique financial services firm. Fintech Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.