NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixth Gear Solutions Corp., an
independent auto finance company providing financing solutions to leading
automotive dealerships across the United States, today announced its entry
into the market with $1 billion in equity and debt financing commitments to
fund its growth.
Sixth Gear uses proprietary technology and personalized service to
efficiently provide dealers and drivers with an array of customized auto
financing solutions, offering auto financing across all credit segments.
The management team of Sixth Gear is highly experienced in the auto
finance industry, and has developed close working relationships with dealers.
The co-CEOs of the company are: Michael Barrington, the former CEO of
AmeriCredit Corp., a leading independent finance company specializing in auto
loans; and Norman Buchan, the former President of Chase Auto Finance, a
leading commercial bank auto lender.
The senior management team includes other former officers of AmeriCredit,
Banco Santander, Chase, Citibank, GE, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Volvo and
Wachovia among other major companies.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Barrington said, "We are committed to
delivering unique value and outstanding service to the dealer and the driver,
which will define our position in the marketplace."
With the support of Fiserv Automotive Solutions, Fair Isaac and
DealerTrack, the company has developed a state of the art technology
infrastructure that will help Sixth Gear provide best-in-class service to auto
dealers and customers.
"Our management team, our investors and our technology partners share our
vision of bringing ease of access to an array of financing options to our
dealers, and to their customers," said Mr. Buchan.
Sixth Gear's capitalization is comprised of over $250 million in equity
commitments from a group of private equity investors led by Warburg Pincus and
$750 million in long-term debt facilities.
David Coulter, Chairman of the Board of Sixth Gear, said, "We look forward
to working with this top notch management team to build a best-in-class auto
finance platform. We think that this is the right time to capitalize on an
attractive market opportunity, while other lenders are reducing their
commitment to this marketplace." Mr. Coulter is a managing director at
Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm and lead equity sponsor of
Sixth Gear. He is also the former CEO of BankAmerica Corporation and Vice
Chairman of JP Morgan Chase.
The Sixth Gear management team is comprised of:
- Michael Barrington, co-CEO -- former Vice Chairman, President and CEO of
AmeriCredit-Entrepreneur with demonstrated ability to achieve results in
fast-paced, diverse business and market conditions. Mr. Barrington's desire to
establish a relationship-focused auto finance company led to the business
concept and capitalization of Sixth Gear.
- Norman Buchan, co-CEO -- former President of Chase Auto Finance
-- Thirty years experience in domestic and international financial services
and a track record of building highly profitable businesses. Mr. Buchan was
instrumental in the development of the Sixth Gear business concept and the
raising of capital for the business.
- Michael Bachand, Chief Credit Officer -- began career with BankOne
-- Senior Vice President, Risk Management, at AmeriCredit -- later Senior Vice
President, Decision Support, at Santander Consumer USA Inc. (formerly Drive
Financial Services).
- Michael Berkowitz, Human Resources -- Twenty-year veteran in
organizational and management development -- most recently Senior Vice
President Global Compensation and Benefits at Merrill Lynch -- previously
Senior Vice President Human Resources, JP Morgan Chase Consumer Financial
Services.
- Steve Dietz, General Counsel and Secretary -- Practiced corporate and
securities law for thirty years. Mr. Dietz held numerous legal positions with
Citibank and Citigroup, most recently as general counsel of The Citigroup
Private Bank.
- William Houlihan, Chief Financial Officer -- CFO of financial services
companies including Metris Companies and Hudson United Bancorp. Mr. Houlihan
has experience in debt and equity financing, loan securitizations, capital
structure optimizations, derivatives transaction and mergers/acquisitions
-- previous investment banking positions with Goldman Sachs and other firms.
- Michael Levine, Chief Technology Officer -- responsible for Sixth Gear's
technology strategy -- thirty-five year career leading large scale business
automation and information systems efforts in the financial services sector
-- formerly with JP Morgan Chase, managing global securities systems, retail
bank automation and merchant services credit card operations -- most recently
as Chief Technology Officer for Chase Auto Finance.
- Cheryl Miller, Chief Servicing Officer -- formerly President of Consumer
Services for AmeriCredit -- responsible for $16B portfolio serviced by five
call centers -- twenty-year career focus on growing business while maintaining
corporate and customer goals relative to call center executive management.
- Michael Miller, Corporate Strategy -- instrumental to the early concept
and development stage of Sixth Gear -- served as Chief Credit Officer and
Chief Operating Officer of AmeriCredit -- twenty years of auto finance
industry experience.
- Joe Scimone, Chief Originations Executive -- started in the auto finance
business at Chase twenty-three years ago, initially managing the Dealer
Services business then as President of its prime auto business -- instrumental
in developing the full spectrum buying strategy for Chase.
About Sixth Gear Solutions Corp.
Sixth Gear Solutions Corp. is an independent auto finance company
providing financing solutions to select dealerships for sales of new and used
vehicles in the United States. The company is headquartered in New York City
with Dealer Service Centers in New York, Arizona and Texas. See
www.sixthgear.com for more information.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus has been a leading private equity investor since 1971. The
firm currently has more than $35 billion of assets under management. Warburg
Pincus invests in a range of sectors including financial services, consumer
and retail, industrial, healthcare, energy, real estate and technology, media
and telecommunications. Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity
investment funds that have invested more than $29 billion in approximately 600
companies and more than 30 countries. An experienced investor in financial
services, Warburg Pincus has invested $3.5 billion in the sector in companies
such as Arch Capital, DIME Bancorp., Mellon Financial, Renaissance Re,
Metavante, Aeolus Re and MBIA. The firm's current and past investments
include: The Neiman Marcus Group; Aramark; NeuStar; TransDigm; Knoll; BEA
Systems, which was acquired by Oracle in 2008; Targa Resources and WNS Global
Services. Warburg Pincus has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong,
London, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo. Please visit
www.warburgpincus.com for more information.
Contact Information:
Todd Fogarty/Joseph Kuo
Kekst and Company Incorporated
Tel: 212-521-4800
Email: todd-fogarty@kekst.com and
joe-kuo@kekst.com
SOURCE Sixth Gear Solutions Corp.
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