Amalgamated Capital Leads $29.5 Million Senior Debt Financing for QCSA Holdings' Acquisition of Salvage Direct

NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Amalgamated Capital (AmalCap), a recently formed division of Amalgamated Bank, announced today that it served as Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent for a $29.5 million senior secured credit facility in support of the acquisition of Salvage Direct by QCSA Holdings, Inc., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC.  AmalCap provides cash flow senior debt financing to facilitate investments made by private equity sponsors in high quality, lower middle market companies.

Based in Davenport, Iowa, QSCA Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a QCSA Auto Auctions) is the nation's largest independent salvage auction company.   Founded in 1998 with headquarters in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Salvage Direct established the first online auction in the total-loss salvage industry.   Kinderhook Industries is a New York-based private equity fund with $650 million of committed capital.

"This is a great example of the type of transaction in which AmalCap plays a leadership role," said Timothy Clifford, Executive Vice President and Head of Amalgamated Capital. "Our strategy as a provider of senior debt financing involves working with strong equity sponsors like Kinderhook in bringing together two companies that complement each other well and have proven management teams."  

"The acquisition of Salvage Direct is an important step for us, one that solidifies our top tier position in our industry," said John Lindle, President of QCSA Holdings.  "Amalgamated Capital's team quickly understood our business and put together a syndicated financing package that fit our needs.  We were impressed by their responsiveness and flexibility throughout the process."

"We chose Amalgamated Capital because of its leveraged finance experience coupled with its flexibility and ability to respond rapidly," commented Paul Cifelli, a Managing Director of Kinderhook Industries.  "AmalCap proved to be a great partner for the Salvage Direct transaction.  They learned the business quickly, and their 'can-do' approach allowed us to close the transaction quickly with the right capital structure to support the combined company going forward.  The AmalCap team delivered exactly what they promised."

About Amalgamated Capital

Amalgamated Capital (AmalCap), founded in September, 2009, is the leveraged finance division of Amalgamated Bank; a New York City-based and privately-owned commercial bank with $4.5 billion in assets.  AmalCap seeks to create strong, long-term partnerships with private equity sponsors and focuses exclusively on providing cash flow senior debt financings to support investments in high quality, lower middle-market companies.  Its borrowers operate in a diverse array of industry sectors and generally have annual revenue ranging from $20 million to $150 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million.  

AmalCap offers a wide range of financing products including revolving lines of credit, term loans and senior-stretch/one-stop financings along with best-in-class cash management services and treasury products provided by Amalgamated Bank. AmalCap's streamlined approach to financing involves a responsive approval process tailored to meet the time-sensitive needs of our private equity partners.  Its financing activity is supported by traditional long-term capital provided by the deposit base of Amalgamated Bank.  This stable source of funding gives AmalCap a lending capacity that provides flexible financing solutions tailored to fit a transaction's unique needs and the patience and dependability to be a trusted partner.  Visit AmalCap on line at www.amalcap.com.

Amalgamated Bank, established in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, continues the progressive traditions of its founders as the only union-owned bank in the United States. Chartered by New York State, Amalgamated Bank is an FDIC insured commercial bank.  The Bank's corporate divisions – in addition to Amalgamated Capital – include Retail Banking, Institutional Asset Management and Custody, Commercial Banking, and Real Estate Finance.  The Bank's website is www.amalgamatedbank.com.

About Kinderhook Industries, LLC

Kinderhook Industries is a New York based private equity fund with $650 million of committed capital. Kinderhook's investment philosophy is based on combining senior management and operating experience in a variety of industries to support the growth of entrepreneurial owned businesses and non-core subsidiaries. For additional information, visit www.kinderhook.com.

About QCSA Holdings, Inc.

Founded by former salvage buyers, QCSA Auto Auctions is the nation's largest independent salvage auction company with 11 auction locations across the Midwest. QCSA Auto Auctions handles all types of salvage vehicles – quality late-model vehicles, repairable and re-buildable vehicles, theft and flood vehicles, parts vehicles, and junk cars. It also deals in power sports vehicles, watercraft, travel trailers and other specialty items.   For additional information, visit www.qcsa.com.

About Salvage Direct

Founded in 1998, Salvage Direct established the first online auction in the total-loss salvage industry.   Today, Salvage Direct auctions cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, power sports, recreational and commercial vehicles on behalf of its insurance company, finance company, and rental fleet partners. It leads the industry with catastrophic-loss management services.  Visit the company's website at www.salvagedirect.com.

SOURCE Amalgamated Capital