WASHINGTON and CHICAGO — Rotunda Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm, has invested $12.3 million in Microf LLC, a consumer finance firm that provides rent-to-own (RTO) solutions for the residential HVAC industry. The investment provides growth capital for Microf and establishes Rotunda Capital as the company’s largest investor. Rotunda Capital has named Craig Rosato to join the company as chief financial officer and will add two members to the board.

“Microf’s unique solution addresses a lack of financing options for credit constrained consumers that are challenged by a need to replace their HVAC system. The company has received strong support from a leading HVAC manufacturer, many top distributors, hundreds of dealers, and thousands of consumers,” said John Fruehwirth, managing partner at Rotunda Capital. “Rotunda Capital’s investment and desire to actively support existing management, coupled with Craig’s expertise, will provide additional support to attract new distributors and dealers as Microf rapidly rolls out the company’s innovative RTO product nationwide.”

Microf said its RTO product provides consumers with quick response times, flexible product offerings, specialized HVAC expertise, and its proprietary relationships with Carrier-branded distributors and dealers across the United States.

“Microf evaluated several potential investors to propel the company forward, and management unanimously selected Rotunda as the ideal partner because of their deep knowledge in the space and willingness to actively work with our management team to drive the company’s growth,” said Mitch Masters, CEO of Microf. “We are excited to have Rotunda on board and leverage their expertise in specialty finance as we introduce our flexible rent-to-own financing option to homeowners across the country.”

“We see a significant replacement trend for aging HVAC equipment in the coming years and believe Microf is ideally positioned to capture market share by providing a financing option that is better for many consumers,” said Bob Wickham, partner at Rotunda Capital. “Microf represents the fourth specialty finance platform for the Rotunda Capital team, and we are eager to partner with Microf to leverage its unique niche in an untapped market.”

For more information about Microf Financial Services, visit www.microf.com.

Publication date: 5/18/2015

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!