With securitization efforts being put on hold, the A16z backed startup is now looking for a buyer at ~$100m after struggling to raise new venture equity this year. The company last raised $75m of equity and $200m of debt in 2015.
Earnest Inc., the financial-technology startup backed by venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, is looking for a buyer as the market for peer-to-peer lending matures, and it struggles to raise new funds. The San Francisco-based company, which offers student loan refinancing as well as personal loans, is shopping itself for about $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Earnest last raised $75 million in equity and $200 million in debt in 2015, bringing the total to just over $300 million since it was founded in 2013, according to research firm CB Insights. The most recent equity financing was led by Battery Ventures, and the debt was led by New York Life Insurance Company. Recent efforts to raise more money haven’t been successful so far, one of the people said. Earnest declined to comment.
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