(Bloomberg) -- The owners of Flagship Credit Acceptance LLC are exploring a sale of the auto-finance provider, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Flagship Credit is held by funds affiliated with Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management LP that are sub-advised by Innovatus Capital Partners, a firm formed by former Perella executives. They are working with an adviser to solicit interest in the company, which could fetch around $400 million in any deal, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information. No final decisions have been made and a transaction may not materialize.
Representatives for Perella and Innovatus declined to comment. A representative for Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania-based Flagship Credit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Flagship Credit, led by Chief Executive Officer Bob Hurzeler, helps non-prime auto shoppers obtain financing, according to its website. Perella’s asset-management arm merged Flagship Credit Acceptance with CarFinance Capital in 2014 to create a larger platform. Soon after, Perella asset-based value executives David Schiff and Andrew Dym split from the bank, which said their firm would become a sub-adviser to Perella’s funds. Innovatus was formed in 2016.
Some Wall Street firms have increased their exposure to auto loans in recent years. KKR & Co. last year said funds and accounts managed by the firm purchased a $373 million portfolio of prime auto loans from Synovus Bank, a move that aligned with its asset-based finance strategy. And in 2021, a group led by Warburg Pincus invested in Irving, Texas-based Exeter Finance LLC.
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