Marubeni America Corporation (“MAC”) and Marubeni Auto and Construction Machinery America, Inc. (“MACMA”) have purchased an 80% stake in Advantage Funding Management, Inc. (“AF”) for the purchase price of US$6,825,000. AF and its subsidiaries are auto leasing companies based in New York. The current owner-managers of AF continue to maintain a 20% stake in AF.

AF is a middle-sized company focusing on the Northeastern United States, and has the largest market share in New York State of commercial vehicles such as school buses, para-transits, limousines, and livery sedans. The current lease assets held by AF is approximately $80 million.

It is expected that through this acquisition, MAC and MACMA will not only be able to increase AF’s already strong leasing business with respect to commercial vehicles, but also to increase AF’s market share in the area of consumer leases by offering excellent leasing programs to the customers of the auto dealers which MACMA owns.

MACMA, with its Long Island Automotive Group, Inc. (NY) and Gallery Automotive Group, Inc. (MA), sells the cars of Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Volkswagen, and Mazda. The sales of new and used cars total approximately 10,000 units per year. With the acquisition of AF, MACMA will be in position to maximize its value to customers by offering better financial options than in the past.