Portland's BlueTarp Financial revs up for further growth under Capital One
Photo / Renee Cordes
Shawn Cunningham, president and chief operating officer of BlueTarp Financial, in the firm's Portland office. The company has a total of 165 employees, including 155 in downtown Portland.
BlueTarp Financial, a Portland-based supplier of business-to-business credit financing services to small and medium-sized building-supply companies as well as enterprise clients including Sears and Ace Hardware, is revving up for further growth under Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF).
The McLean, Va.-based financial holding company announced Friday it was acquiring BlueTarp in a deal due to close in the third quarter. Financial terms were not disclosed.
For Shawn Cunningham, BlueTarp's president and chief operating officer, the new partnership has a personal significance given that he worked for Capital One in Richmond early in his career.
"It comes full circle," he told Mainebiz in an interview Monday morning at BlueTarp's sprawling eighth-floor office at One Monument Square. Some 155 people work in that location, out of 165 total BlueTarp employees.
He said for the time being, the company would continue to operate as BlueTarp, though that may change later, and that all 165 BlueTarp employees — along with the management team — would become Capital One employees.
The tie-up with CapitalOne comes amid BlueTarp's hiring drive. It recently added nine customer service employees as it advertises openings in that area as well as in software development and accounting on its website.
BlueTarp, founded in 1999, is backed by venture capital and private equity investors.
Cunningham said the acquisition agreement came out of talks between BlueTarp and Capital One as each was on the hunt for partners to each expand their business, and he couldn't recall who first approached whom.
"Growth is very important for us, and we're always talking to potential partners," he said.
He said the deal positions BlueTarp to take a leading position in the business-to-business credit-financing market, which is less mature than the consumer card and private-label market, adding: "I can't think of a better landing spot for BlueTarp as a next step."
Buck Stinson, senior vice president of card partnerships at Capital One, said in Friday's news release that Capital One looks forward to "integrating BlueTarp and its innovative technology and services into Capital One’s card partnerships business, enhancing our service capabilities for existing and future partners.”
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as legal advisor to Capital One in connection with the transaction.
Evercore was financial advisor to BlueTarp, and Goodwin Procter LLP was its legal advisor.
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