Castlelake, a global alternative investment manager specializing in asset-based private credit, entered into a forward flow agreement with Alma, a buy-now pay-later (BNPL) solution company in France, to purchase over €3 ($3.3) 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.
“Castlelake is pleased to support Alma’s efforts to simplify commerce by enabling merchants to offer flexible and affordable solutions to their customers,” Alex Curcio, partner, European specialty finance at Castlelake, said. “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,” Nicolas Benhamou-Rondeau, vice president of funding, capital optimization and risk at Alma, said. “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.”
