ECN Capital and Skyline Champion Announce Strategic Relationship

ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) (“ECN Capital”) and Skyline Champion Corporation (NYSE: SKY) (“Skyline Champion”) today announced that they have entered into a share subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) pursuant to which Skyline Champion has agreed to make an approximately C$185 million (US$138 million) equity investment in ECN Capital on a private placement basis (the “Private Placement”) in exchange for 33,550,000 common shares of ECN Capital (the “Common Shares”) and 27,450,000 mandatory convertible preferred shares, Series E of ECN Capital (“Convertible Preferred Shares”). Upon closing of the Private Placement, Skyline Champion is expected to beneficially own an approximately 19.9% interest in ECN Capital (assuming the conversion of all Convertible Preferred Shares).

In connection with the Private Placement, ECN Capital and Skyline Champion will form a captive finance company that will be 51% owned by Skyline Champion and 49% owned by Triad Financial Services, Inc. (“Triad”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ECN Capital. The captive finance company will provide a tailored retail finance loan program for customers and a new branded floorplan offering for Skyline Champion and its affiliates in the manufactured home finance space and will operate with services provided by Triad.

The captive finance company is expected to enable both companies to work more closely together to grow their respective businesses and create value for their stakeholders. Among other things, the captive finance company is expected to:

• drive greater demand for product by providing broader and more attractive financing options and services for Skyline Champion’s customers;
• enhance Skyline Champion’s turn-key homebuying solutions while magnifying the benefits of their digital and direct-to-consumer strategic investments; and
• generate increased retail loan originations and floorplan balances, driving growth and scale efficiencies for Triad.

"We are pleased to announce this new and expanded partnership with Skyline Champion, a leading participant in the North American manufactured housing sector,” said Steven Hudson, Chief Executive Officer of ECN Capital. “This transaction represents the culmination of the strategic review process that we commenced earlier this year, and we are very excited by the significant growth opportunities that the establishment of the new captive finance company will bring to Triad. The concurrent equity and preferred share investments in ECN Capital also represent a strong endorsement of ECN Capital’s business model and the value of our platform.”