Midvale equipment leasing company sold for $35 million

A PacWest Bancorp subsidiary has completed its acquisition of Marquette Equipment Finance, based in Midvale, for $35 million in cash.

MEF focuses on business equipment leases throughout the U.S. Its tangible net assets on Dec. 31 were approximately $18 million. It was founded in 1978.

Pacific Western Bank acquired all the MEF capital stock from Meridian Bank and assumed $154 million in outstanding debt and other liabilities.

PacWest said the company will continue to operate under its current name as a Pacific Western Bank subsidiary, although Pacific Western will change MEF's' name within a year. MEF will continue to focus on equipment finance and will retain all 71 employees. Jim Christensen, MEF's president, and Christian Emery, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will continue in their...