Deerfield Capital Corp. said it will buy private credit asset-management company Commercial Industrial Finance Corp. for about $53 million in cash and stock.

Following the completion of the merger, CIFC Chief Executive Peter Gleysteen will become chief executive of the combined company, while Deerfield Chief Executive Jonathan Trutter will become a vice chairman. The new company will have its headquarters in New York and its main operations in Chicago.

According to terms of the deal, CIFC will receive about 9.1 million shares of newly-issued Deerfield common stock as well as $7.5 million in cash, payable in three equal installments, plus other considerations.

The deal is subject to Deerfield shareholder approval and is expected to close in the “first part of 2011,” the companies said.

The combined company is projected to have assets under management totaling about $15.6 billion, and is expected to see “improved profitability, cash flow and financial strength,” the companies said.

“The combination of DFR and CIFC will create one of the world’s largest structured credit and leveraged finance investment managers,” Trutter said.

Deerfield shares were halted after hours. They closed at $5.08, up 1.6 percent, and are up 10 percent this year.