Castlelake Announces Forward Flow Agreement with Alma to Purchase over €3 Billion of Consumer Loans

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Oct 09, 2024, 05:30 ET

Strategic Funding Agreement Provides Alma with Increased Capacity to Scale its Solutions for Customers

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Castlelake, L.P. ("Castlelake"), a global alternative investment manager specializing in asset-based private credit, today announced that it has entered into a forward flow agreement with Alma ("Alma"), a Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) solution company in France, to purchase over €3 billion of short duration payment facilities originated online and in stores over a 2.5-year period. BNP Paribas and Santander CIB will provide senior financing as part of the forward flow agreement.

Founded in 2018, Alma is an origination platform of responsible pay in installments solutions. The company operates in 10 European countries, supporting more than 17,500 merchants through its omnichannel approach. In France, its primary market, Alma counts Maison du Monde, SNCF and Printemps among its customers. Since 2019, Alma has originated over €4 billion of loans to consumers via its merchant partners.

"Castlelake is pleased to support Alma's efforts to simplify commerce by enabling merchants to offer flexible and affordable solutions to their customers," said Alex Curcio, Partner, European Specialty Finance at Castlelake. "Through this transaction, we look forward to providing our investors with increased exposure to the near-prime consumer opportunity set within European markets."

"This partnership with Castlelake marks another significant milestone in Alma's journey," said Nicolas Benhamou-Rondeau, VP Funding, Capital Optimization and Risk at Alma. "The transaction allows us to significantly scale up our capacity to meet the increasing demand for an efficient and practical alternative to traditional consumer credit."

Since 2015, Castlelake has both acquired assets and provided asset-based private credit to consumer and small and medium-sized business originators. The firm has invested more than $5 billion in such opportunities since that time and originated or acquired more than 17 million consumer receivable accounts. Recent transactions include a forward flow agreement to purchase up to $1 billion of consumer loans and another to purchase up to $1.2 billion of consumer installment loans.

About Castlelake

Castlelake, L.P. is a global alternative investment manager focused on asset-based investments in the private specialty finance, real assets and aviation markets. Founded in 2005, Castlelake manages approximately $22 billion of assets on behalf of a diversified global investor base. The Castlelake team comprises more than 220 experienced professionals, including 80 investment professionals, across seven offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.castlelake.com.

About Alma

Founded in 2018, Alma is one of the largest installment payment solutions providers in France. With an omnichannel approach, the company is present in 10 European countries and supports more than 17,500 merchants. Alma's mission is to contribute to the emergence of a new, more conscious form of commerce, by creating an ecosystem of products at the service of merchants.

Contact

Castlelake

Prosek Partners for Castlelake
Josh Clarkson/Remy Marin
+1 212 279 3115
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Castlelake Media Relations
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SOURCE Castlelake