Percent raises $12.5M Series A to develop more efficient alternative investment markets

The company, formerly known as Cadence, creates a transparent market for investors and issuers.

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Apr 22, 2021, 09:30 ET

NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadence, the private investing platform changing the landscape of the $800 billion private credit industry, announces today its rebranding as Percent and the raising of $12.5 million in Series A funding in a round co-led by White Star Capital and B Capital.

Launched in 2018 as Cadence, the premier private credit investment platform, the company brought a unique fixed income investment product to individual and institutional investors. By early 2021, Cadence had over $400 million in investments structured and issued across its investor platforms, with more than 200 deals closed and over $6 million in interest disbursed to investors.

"As the company evolved and our broader vision changed, the ties that bound us to the name Cadence became few and far between," says Founder and CEO Nelson Chu. "The world thinks in the form of percents when it comes to measuring returns, tracking ownership, and monitoring performance. In this way, Percent embodies our past, our present, and our future in just a single word and I couldn't be more excited to see how we grow into the new brand."

With a new fundraising round, Percent will accelerate the development of the company's infrastructure to help convert a pipeline of over 250 data-driven originators and $2 billion in pending transaction volume. This growth coincides with the rapid market expansion of private credit, which Preqin projects will increase by 11.4% annually from $848 billion at the end of 2020 to $1.46 trillion at the end of 2025.

"Success for us will be measured in how fast we can source, structure, syndicate, and surveil the assets of our originators," says Prath Reddy, President of Percent. "By building out the technology for ourselves, we have shown that we can be faster, cheaper, and more flexible than any other underwriter in the market, and we've only just scratched the surface of what we can accomplish."

The Series A round was co-led by White Star Capital and B Capital, with participation from Revel Partners and Recharge Capital, the company's prior round leads.

"Percent launched in 2018 with an ambitious vision to help corporate borrowers of any size secure and fulfill debt capital through technology," said Sep Alavi, General Partner, White Star Capital. "By innovating the way private debt is originated, structured, and syndicated, Percent is poised to become the dominant infrastructure layer delivering debt capital with unprecedented levels of transparency and efficiency."

"The private credit market has grown rapidly even without strong infrastructure or an established category leader," said Karen Page, General Partner at B Capital Group. "Investors have been getting by with subpar options in this space, but they're increasingly demanding more insight into their high-yield investments. If the private credit market is to reach its trillion-dollar potential, it will be because a company like Percent helped bring it to maturity."

This round bolsters an already institutionally-oriented investor base, which includes Morgan Creek Digital, Nimble Ventures, Altai Ventures, 10X Capital, and Richard "Dick" D. Parsons, former chairman of Citi (investing through R&R Venture Partners). Oliver Wriedt, former Co-CEO of CIFC, and Navtej S. Nandra, former President of E*Trade, both of whom participated in prior fundraising rounds, also serve on the company's Board of Directors.

About Percent
Percent (formerly Cadence) is a leading technology platform enabling investors, issuers and underwriters unparalleled access to once opaque asset classes in private capital markets. Founded in 2018, Percent is creating the first ever efficient market for private credit, facilitating a higher velocity of transactions at a fraction of the cost. Their platform has been used to analyze billions in assets and issue over $400 million of private credit transactions across both unrated and rated offerings. The company is headquartered in New York with a presence in Boston and Austin, and is backed by White Star Capital, B Capital, Revel Partners, Morgan Creek, Nimble Ventures, and Tuesday Capital.

Press Kit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/05kawnimz7qdih8/AABKuQZv5WCOATlqe713HRcha?dl=0

SOURCE Percent