AVANA Companies and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management L.P. announced the formation of a new $250 million AVANA-Oaktree Private Credit Partnership (AOPCP) for its direct private commercial real estate lending strategy. And through the joint venture (JV), AVANA will use the capital to provide private debt financing in the US over the next three years.
AOPCP aims to enhance local economies and create jobs. And the funding will provide SMEs in the commercial real estate sector with access to capital in the form of bridge and construction loans for all CRE products.
AVANA and Oaktree have extensive experience in the CRE industry and supporting SMEs across the USA. And recently, AVANA Companies entered a partnership with a national hospitality group to provide franchisers with capital to develop and renovate commercial properties across the US.
Since 2002, AVANA has served 500+ small businesses with 66% of their entrepreneurial customers being black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC). And AVANA has funded $1 billion in loans to minority entrepreneurs, which have directly and indirectly created over 5,500 jobs.
KEY QUOTES:
“Oaktree has firsthand experience through past partnerships with AVANA. The AVANA team’s unparalleled expertise and reputation in the CRE lending industry aligns with our focus on risk control in private credit investments.”
- Justin Guichard, Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager at Oaktree
“We meet with every business owner we have lent to; it is important to us to put a name and a face to a loan as part of our due diligence, credit underwriting, and risk mitigation. Our ability to build capital for a better tomorrow lies in our team’s deep-rooted history in lending and the trust we have in our partners at Oaktree.”
– Sanat Patel, Chief Lending Officer and co-founder of AVANA
“After 22 years of working within the CRE industry and SMEs, we recognize the challenges of this tight lending environment and that’s why we are challenging our team to lend $250 million in the first year. This capital from Oaktree enables us to multiply our social impact exponentially, offering financing opportunities to entrepreneurs and supporting financial inclusion.”
– Sundip Patel, CEO and co-founder of AVANA Companies
