Consumer Portfolio Plans Offering

Consumer Portfolio Services Inc., a broker of car loans made at 80 Southern California dealerships, reported that it plans to sell $6 million worth of shares in an initial public offering.

The Irvine-based company filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 1.2 million shares at $5 each. The company has applied to be listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol CPSS.

Consumer Portfolio buys car loans from dealerships and then sells portions of the notes to institutional investors. Currently, General Electric Capital Corp. is the company’s only buyer.

Consumer Portfolio lost $2.52 million in its fiscal year ended March 31, contrasted with a $218,095 loss in the same period a year earlier. Founded in 1991, the company plans to use proceeds from the offering to repay debt and purchase car-loan contracts.

Whale Securities Co., L.P., will underwrite the offering.