Franklin Templeton and Benefit Street Partners, the groupβs alternative credit manager, have completed a transaction with Encina Lender Finance that expands BSPβs asset-backed finance (ABF) platform.
Under the terms of the deal, a new fund backed by Franklin Templeton and BSP-affiliated funds acquired an initial seed portfolio with approximately $480m (β¬431.5m) of commitments originated by Encina.
In addition, a 14-person investment team from Encina joined BSP and will continue to manage and originate investments through the strategy.
The transaction expands BSPβs capabilities in consumer and commercial lender finance and continues the buildout of a comprehensive, multi-strategy private asset-backed finance platform focused on the middle market, Franklin Templeton said in a statement.
The platform now spans corporate asset-backed lending, equipment leasing, aircraft leasing, consumer finance and lender finance, the firm added.
With the completion of the transaction, the now-combined ABF platform provides BSP with access to approximately 100 investment professionals and a track record dating to 2013. Having completed over $10bn worth of investments since inception, BSP now believes the combined ABF platform has the capacity to originate more than $3bn annually.
Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, said: βWe continue to expand and diversify our private markets capabilities, using our balance sheet selectively to support strategic growth.
βThis transaction demonstrates the strength of our model: combining specialised investment expertise with Franklin Templetonβs global scale and distribution to build differentiated investment solutions for clients. With over $300bn in alternative AUM, we believe there is significant opportunity to continue scaling our private markets capabilities globally,β she added.
David Manlowe, CEO of BSP, added: βInvestor demand for ABF continues to grow among a mix of institutional allocators. Adding the Encina team is a natural extension of our existing strategies and broadens both our origination capabilities and the range of financing solutions we can provide.
βTogether with Franklin Templeton, we continue to build a scaled private ABF platform, which we believe has significant capacity for growth across asset classes and geographies.β
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