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SAN DIEGO - Axos Bank, the banking subsidiary of Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX), a $5 billion market cap financial institution with a GREAT financial health score according to InvestingPro, announced Monday it has acquired equipment leasing company Verdant Commercial Capital, LLC for approximately $43.5 million in cash. The company has demonstrated strong performance with revenue growth of ~14% over the last twelve months.
The transaction includes Verdant’s portfolio of approximately $1.1 billion in loans and leases as of August 31, 2025, comprising $750 million of on-balance sheet securitizations and $350 million of loans and leases. Trading at a P/E ratio of ~12x, Axos has maintained robust profitability metrics, with five analysts recently revising their earnings estimates upward according to InvestingPro data.
Verdant specializes in originating small to mid-ticket leases ranging from $50,000 to $5 million across six industry verticals nationwide, offering various leasing products including equipment finance leases, conditional sale leases, fair market value leases, and terminal rental adjustment clause leases.
"We like Verdant’s specialization in vendor-based equipment leasing and believe we can scale this business profitably," said Greg Garrabrants, President and CEO of Axos Financial, Inc., in the press release.
The purchase price represents a 10% premium on Verdant’s book value at closing. The agreement includes potential additional performance-based payments over a four-year period if Verdant generates a return on equity above 15%, with the total earn-out capped at $50 million.
Axos expects the acquisition to increase earnings per share by approximately 2-3% in fiscal 2026 and 5-6% in fiscal 2027 after replacing Verdant’s higher-cost funding with Axos’s lower-cost deposit funding. With the stock showing impressive momentum, gaining over 37% in the past six months, investors seeking detailed analysis can access comprehensive valuation models and 8 additional ProTips through InvestingPro’s exclusive research reports.
The transaction, signed on September 19, 2025, is expected to close on September 30, 2025. Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods, a Stifel Company (NYSE:SF), served as the exclusive financial advisor to Verdant in the transaction.
Axos Financial reported approximately $24.8 billion in consolidated assets as of June 30, 2025.
In other recent news, Axos Financial reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, with earnings per share reaching $1.94, surpassing the forecasted $1.78. The company’s revenue also demonstrated robust growth, contributing to a positive market response. Following this performance, Needham raised its price target for Axos Financial to $102 from $92, maintaining a Buy rating due to the company’s strong fiscal year 2025 performance, which exceeded Wall Street expectations. In a related development, Axos Financial completed a $200 million subordinated notes offering, with the notes priced at a 7.00% Fixed-to-Floating Rate, due in 2035. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods acted as the representative of the underwriters for this offering. The firm also reiterated its Market Perform rating on Axos Financial, with expectations that the company will redeem $160.5 million of existing subordinated debt next month. These developments highlight Axos Financial’s strategic financial maneuvers and strong fiscal performance.
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