Online Student Lender CommonBond Receives approx. $330M; Buys Gradible

commonbondCommonBond, a NYC-based online lender that uses data and technology to lower the cost of student loans, received approx $330m in new funding.

The capital was a combination of equity capital to fund operations and lending capital to fund loans.
The $30m Series C equity round was led by the Neuberger Berman Private Equity round, which joined existing investors August Capital, Tribeca Venture Partners, Social Capital, Nyca Partners and Victory Park Capital and individual investors Vikram Pandit, Tom Glocer and Tom Kalaris.
In addition to the equity funding, the company announced a $300m in loan purchases by a global asset management firm.

With these new operations, CommonBond will surpass $1 billion in financing across equity and debt.

The company will use the new equity funding to hire across the organization, build out its technology platforms for consumers and employers, and continue to scale its loan operations. It has also announced the acquisition of Gradible, a personal finance platform founded in 2013 by Pete Wylie, Grant Biles and Lee Smallwood, which provides users with personalized recommendations on how to better manage and repay their student loans. With Gradible, CommonBond will now offer a full suite of student loan repayment programs for their employees, beyond student loan refinancing options.

Led by David Klein, CEO and Co-Founder, CommonBond is a direct lender, licensed in more than 40 states nationally. It has nearly 100 employer partnerships with companies such as Mercer, WeWork, Betterment, Skadden Arps and Dentons.

FinSMEs

19/07/2016

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