Kalamata.com Closes Securitization of Up to $500 Million to Provide Financing for Small Businesses
May 02 2024 - 12:05PM
Business Wire
Kalamata.com LLC (“Kalamata”), a leading online capital provider
of fast, simple, and trusted financing options for small
businesses, announced the closing of a successful securitization of
a revolving portfolio of business advance receivables. The
transaction, which closed on April 9, 2024, involved the issuance
of two classes of notes initially totaling $80 million, and
expandable up to $500 million.
This milestone is a significant achievement for Kalamata, with
KBRA assigning an investment grade “BBB” credit rating to the
senior notes. The issuance was well received by the capital markets
and showcased Kalamata’s strong origination, underwriting, scoring,
data analytics, and customer service capabilities. The weighted
average credit score of the small business owners, annualized
revenue, and time in business in the initial pool is 716, $5.8
million, and 12 years, respectively. For context, FICO announced
that the national average FICO® Score was 716 in 2022.
Kalamata believes that small- and medium-sized businesses are
the engine of the U.S. economy, and that business owners should be
able to access the capital they need, when they need it. Kalamata’s
transaction comes at a critical time for small businesses because,
unfortunately, recent regional bank troubles have led to an even
greater retrenchment of traditional banks’ lending to small
businesses.
For more than ten years, Kalamata has provided capital to
thousands of hard-working small business owners and entrepreneurs
to help them grow, create jobs, and better serve their communities.
This securitization, and Kalamata’s continued investment in new
technologies, further strengthens the company’s position as a
leader in the alternative finance and private credit
industries.
Steven Mandis, Kalamata’s Founder and Chairman, stated, “I am
excited to close this securitization, which is testament to our
team’s hard work and dedication in providing responsible and
innovative financing solutions for small businesses. It also
positions Kalamata to continue to support the growth and success of
SMBs across the country and to innovate and adapt to meet their
evolving financing needs.”
Mandis added, “Kalamata has expanded significantly in large part
due to the contributions of Brandon Laks and Connor Phillips, who
were among our first employees. After becoming Co-Presidents, they
have led their teams to accelerated growth and have set records in
volume and revenues.”
Guggenheim Securities served as sole structuring advisor and the
sole initial purchaser of the notes. Eversheds Sutherland, Miles
& Stockbridge, and Holland & Knight provided legal advice
to Kalamata.
About Kalamata
Kalamata combines technology, data science, experience, and
common sense to provide fast, simple, and trusted online financing
options to small- and medium-sized businesses across the nation to
help them grow, create jobs, and better serve their communities.
Kalamata can provide approvals for up to $500,000 within hours.
Chairman Steven Mandis was previously an owner of the online
small business capital provider, Rapid Financial Services. After
its sale in 2013 to Rockbridge Growth Equity, the private equity
arm of Dan Gilbert—owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team
and Quicken Loans, Mandis founded Kalamata, named after the area
where his parents immigrated from in Greece.
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Media: Jonathan Gasthalter Gasthalter & Co. (212)
257-4170