COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Mercantile Bank (“the Bank”), the wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ: PMBC), today announced that it has provided a $10 million revolving line of credit to Great Elm DME, Inc. and its subsidiaries to partially fund the acquisitions of Valley Healthcare Group (“VHG”) and Northwest Medical (“NWM”), creating a leading regional provider of sleep and respiratory-focused durable medical equipment and services serving approximately 70,000 patients annually. Great Elm DME, Inc. is a majority owned, indirect subsidiary of Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEC, “Great Elm”).

On a combined basis, VHG and NWM will be leaders in the distribution of positive air pressure (CPAP / BiPAP) machines and supplies, sleep studies, ventilators and oxygen equipment for patients with sleep and respiratory conditions, such as obstructive sleep apnea, in Arizona, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The combined companies, which will continue to operate under local brand names, are well positioned to grow organically and to consolidate the fragmented durable medical equipment industry.  Both acquired businesses have reputations for providing the highest quality patient care, education and customer service, internally observing patient compliance rates well in excess of national averages.

“Our acquisition of VHG and NWM aligns well with Great Elm’s broader value creation strategy,” remarked Adam M. Kleinman, President and Chief Operating Officer of Great Elm. “Both companies are led by exceptional management teams with demonstrated track records of growth. VHG’s historic investments in its people, processes and technology position it to drive growth and enhance the operating efficiencies of other sleep and respiratory-focused providers who, like NWM, already have impressive reputations for patient care, education and service. We are pleased to partner with Pacific Mercantile Bank to acquire these outstanding companies and look forward to working with them to help grow market share and expand the geographical footprint of the combined companies both organically and through targeted acquisitions.”

“Working together with the Great Elm team, we were able to quickly put the financing in place that enabled them to meet the short timeline for completing these transactions,” said Rob Parks, Senior Vice President at Pacific Mercantile Bank.  “With our experience working with both private equity sponsors and operating companies, we were able to provide funding for the acquisitions and deliver a full banking relationship to the combined company including a customized line of credit and a full suite of treasury management services.  Great Elm has a proven track record for creating value and we look forward to working with them on additional transactions in the future.”

For more information about Pacific Mercantile Bank and its commitment to helping companies succeed, visit www.pmbank.com.

About Pacific Mercantile Bank

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ: PMBC) is the parent holding company of Pacific Mercantile Bank, which opened for business March 1, 1999. The Bank, which is an FDIC insured, California state-chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System, provides a wide range of commercial banking services to businesses, business professionals and individual clients. The Bank is headquartered in Orange County and has seven locations in Southern California, located in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties. The Bank offers tailored flexible solutions for its clients including an array of loan and deposit products, sophisticated treasury management services, and comprehensive online banking services accessible at www.pmbank.com.

About Great Elm Capital Group, Inc.

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEC) is a publicly-traded holding company that is building a business across three operating verticals: Investment Management, Real Estate and Operating Companies. Great Elm Capital Group, Inc.’s website can be found at www.greatelmcap.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements regarding our expectations, beliefs and views about our plans to continue to build our loan portfolio and supporting systems and processes.  These statements, which constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Often, they include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project," or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of interest rates and other external economic factors and competition among financial services providers. We undertake no obligation (and expressly disclaim any such obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For additional information concerning factors that could cause actual conditions, events or results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the factors set forth under the headings "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports and to our most recent Form 8-K reports, which are available online at www.sec.gov. No assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition.

Pacific Mercantile Bank Contact:
Robert Anderson
EVP & Chief Banking Officer
714-438-2500

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. Contact:
Meaghan K. Mahoney
Senior Vice President
617-375-3006