As part of its income investing strategy, Castlelake, an alternative investment manager, reached an agreement to provide up to $155 million in fleet financing to Voyager Global Mobility (VGM), a provider to the smart mobility marketplace, for the acquisition of more than 3,200 vehicles for rideshare, car-share and micro-mobility driver-subscribers in the United States and Latin America. EA Markets served as exclusive financial advisor and placement agent to VGM on the transaction.
“We believe this financing will enable VGM to meaningfully address a supply shortage while providing drivers with more flexible solutions and a wider range of vehicles, including those that are handicap accessible,” Armin Rothauser, partner in asset-backed direct lending at Castlelake, said. “Through this transaction, we are also pleased to obtain exposure to what we view as a compelling income investment opportunity within the fast-growing mobility market.”
VGM aims to address the ride-hailing vehicle supply gap by providing short-term subscriptions to drivers who either do not own a car or need a vehicle when their own car is out of service. Currently, VGM operates a fleet of just under 10,000 vehicles across 20 cities in the United States and Mexico. VGM is expanding its business domestically and internationally through acquisition and internal growth.
“Castlelake’s financing expertise and ability to embrace complexity have been a tremendous asset throughout our relationship, and through this financing, we are pleased to be able to nearly double our fleet of vehicles around the globe,” Wayne Ackerman, CFO at VGM, said. “We look forward to taking our operations to the next level and to providing more drivers and our transportation software partners with professionally managed vehicles.”
Castlelake has completed more than $3 billion of specialty finance investments since 2015, including a recent agreement to acquire up to $400 million of diversified equipment loan and lease receivables. Its specialty finance activity has also included acquiring or financing more than 3,500 commercial and industrial loans and more than 5 million consumer receivable accounts. Castlelake launched its asset-backed direct lending strategy in 2020 and has since provided nearly $3 billion in loans to borrowers.
