Avant Hauls In $225 Million In Equity

Lending firm AvantCredit has pulled in $225 million in equity and added to its debt lines, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The size of the round gives us a lot of flexibility to stay private [without] having to raise money every six to 12 months,” CEO Al Goldstein was quoted saying.

This funding is on top of a $75 million Series C round AvantCredit closed this summer.

AvantCredit is in a crowded lending space, but given that it didn’t make its first loan until last year, it’s making headway. It has serviced more than $500 million in personal loans thus far, the story noted, adding that eight-year-old rival Lending Club has originated about $6 billion in loans. Another rival, Prosper Marketplace, has pulled in more than $1 billion in loans.

“Two-thirds of the capital in AvantCredit’s new Series D round came from Tiger Global Management and August Capital, which co-led the round. These investors also led the company’s Series C funding,” the Journal said. “Joining Tiger and August Capital in the deal for AvantCredit are new investors, including DFJ Growth, RRE Ventures, KKR & Co., and Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal. RRE was co-founded by the former chairman and chief executive of American Express, Jim Robinson III. As part of the new financing, the company also expanded its credit facility with Victory Park Capital by $300 million.”