Avant Closes $325 Million Series E Funding Round Led By General Atlantic

Avant, a fast growing online lending platform, announced today it has closed a $325 million Series E equity finance round. The funding, announced last month, was led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic, with additional participation from Balyasny Asset Management and J.P. Morgan. Existing investors Tiger Global Management and August Capital also participated in the financing round.

Al Goldstein, CEO of Avant, stated:

“Avant is serving unmet demand on a global scale and providing millions of consumers with access to responsible credit in a clear and timely manner. We are proud of Avant’s tremendous growth over the last three years and continue to believe in the power of technology to innovate and improve the customer experience. Our partnership with a leading growth equity firm like General Atlantic signifies our commitment to building a premier technology brand. We look forward to the continued growth of our core consumer loan product, as well as the successful launch of additional financial products and services to support our customers.”

This newest round of funding brings Avant’s total equity raised to over $650 million and debt raised to $1.1 billion. Avant has arranged to sell $1.8 billion through the Avant United States Institutional Marketplace. Avant currently employs more than 750 people with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and London. In the next phase of the company’s growth, Avant will expand its suite of financial products and launch in new geographic regions. More than 310,000 customers have been served and by the end of 2015, Avant expects over $2 billion in loans to have been originated through the Avant technology platform.

Jonathan Korngold, Managing Director and Global Head of General Atlantic’s Financial Services Sector, noted:

“Avant has established itself as an exceptional, next-generation financial institution thanks to its best-in-class technology, stringent compliance protocols, innovative underwriting capabilities and unparalleled customer experience. As a result, the company is uniquely capable of serving the large, non-prime consumer finance segment in a fair and transparent manner. We are excited to partner with Al and the Avant team and look forward to helping to extend the company’s global leadership position in the years to come.”

In conjunction with General Atlantic’s investment, Jonathan Korngold is joining the company’s Board of Directors.

Eric Carlborg, Partner at August Capital, added:

“In three years Avant has exhibited growth at a break-neck pace. We are excited to continue our support for Avant as they revolutionize the lending industry.”

J.P. Morgan served as sole placement agent to Avant on the capital raise.