First Investors’ Shareholders Approve Merger with Aquiline

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC’s $100 million acquisition of First Investors Financial Services Group Inc. closed Oct. 31 after shareholders approved the deal during a special meeting in Houston the day prior. Aquiline is a New York-based private equity firm.  

In all, about 6.2 million First Investors shares — more than 95% of the company’s total shares of common stock outstanding as of the record date —  were voted, and 99.9% were in favor of the merger. The merger’s approval required an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the shares outstanding as of Oct. 1.

Under terms of the agreement, shareholders will receive $13.87 in cash for each First Investors share they hold, a 39% premium to the stock’s $10 closing price on Sept. 25, the day before the deal was announced. The stock has climbed 32% in the past year. 

First Investors was founded in 1988, and offers indirect and direct lending, portfolio acquisitions and third-party servicing. Its indirect lending arm serves dealerships in 37 states for consumers with credit scores between 500 to 650, as well as those who have been through bankruptcy.

Found in 2005, Aquiline Capital concentrates on the financial services industry. According to a Bloomberg Businessweek profile, Aquiline generally invests between $100 million and $400 million per transaction.