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Company: Merchants Fleet
Company Description: Merchants Fleet is the nation’s fastest growing fleet management company, providing flexible funding and service options for organizations that leverage vehicles to run their operations, serving as a single source for all vehicle needs, including electric vehicles. Merchants Fleet is headquartered in Hooksett, NH, with an Innovation Center in the Chicago, Illinois, area.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Achievement in Management - Financial Services
 Nomination Title: Jerry Pavelich, Capital Campaign to Keep America Moving
- If you are providing an essay of up to 650 words, place it in this space:
Total 536 words used.
Many Merchants Fleet clients were among the millions of US essential businesses hit hard by the pandemic, as they were suddenly challenged to navigate vehicle and financing shortages while trying to meet surging demands for delivery services across the nation. Jerry Pavelich, Chief Financial Officer at Merchants Fleet knew he needed to act quickly to help our essential business clients secure the resources they needed to keep America moving through the pandemic.
This was a remarkable growth opportunity for Merchants, and it meant Jerry would have to quickly secure capital that would allow Merchants to meet the unprecedented demands of our essential business clients. Due to the pandemic, financing opportunities were all but drying up, and Jerry and his team were advised that raising capital was not likely to be successful during such a tenuous time. However, Jerry and his team didn’t take no for an answer and believed it was possible. As part of the capital raise, Jerry devised a carefully constructed strategy to engage with 118 selected investors whom he felt would best align with the long-term goals of Merchants Fleet. This led to 68 requests for confidential information memoranda, which Jerry assembled.
The initial round resulted in meetings with 13 investors in New York City and 10 at the Merchants headquarters in Hooksett, NH. Jerry provided key insights into Merchants’ financials, explained what the investment would mean for Merchants, how the capital would be used to provide resources to essential businesses, and testified to the financial stability of the company. In addition to managing the raise of growth financing, Jerry strategized a legal and tax entity restructuring so the company could maintain its S-Corp status. He discovered and implemented creative solutions so the bank group could stay aligned with the company’s goals in the capital raise and the restructuring.
Jerry successfully balanced the company’s obligations in tax laws, motor vehicle laws, and bank requirements – while maintaining a seamless client experience. Jerry’s efforts were successful, resulting in 10 first-round bids – double what is typically expected. Jerry led and ran the due diligence process from start to finish, resulting in 5 second-round bids (typically 1-2 second-round bids are expected). Despite the grim forecast by many in the industry, Jerry and his team forged ahead and launched an ambitious capital raise, and on Friday, March 13th, 2020, Jerry defied what many deemed impossible during a harrowing global economy, by negotiating a successful investment agreement for $50 million of growth financing with Bain Capital Credit.
Throughout the process, Jerry kept a long-term view of how the relationship would grow, and made strategic choices based on establishing an enduring financial partnership, not just who provided the best financial offer. The result was a game-changing investment that allowed Merchants to create innovative new products and programs that helped thousands of North American fleet clients regain their financial footing from the pandemic. This launched the company forward as the fastest-growing fleet company in North America, allowing us to grow our core funding group to include some of the top banks and investors in the world, who provide Merchants with access to $2 billion of capacity to lease vehicles and equipment for clients, and continue investing in our growth.
- Which will you provide for your nomination in this category, an essay of up to 650 words describing the achievements of the nominated management team, group, or individual since January 1 2020, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length describing the same? CHOOSE ONE:
An essay of up to 650 words
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video:
- In bullet-list form, provide a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee(s) since January 1 2020. This is required whether you are submitting a video or an essay:
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Raised $55 million of growth financing by the end of 2020
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Raised $1B of corporate debt to fund vehicles and services since 2020
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Brought in an entirely new bank group
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Integrated BNP Paribas as lead bank
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Increased borrowing capacity to $2 Billion
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Supported 38% growth during the pandemic at a time when competitors were shrinking
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Transformed the finance team as business partner, implementing a FPAC group that hadn’t existed before
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Brought on the finance team and financial operations team to support 15% growth in last mile business
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Funded vehicles so that essential businesses could stay on the road to provide products & services to those who needed them most during the pandemic
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Earn multiple awards, including Best in Biz, 2020 Financial Executive of the Year and Titan Awards 2021 Achievement in Finance
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