Supply Chain Finance Firm Greensill Capital Puts Capital Raise On Ice

Supply chain financing company Greensill Capital delayed a new round of fundraising by several months after increasing the amount it wants to raise, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

The Softbank-backed startup had planned to complete the investment by early January, but it now looks unlikely to be finished until at least late March, the people told WSJ. Greensill upped its funding goal from $500 million to $1 billion.

The delay follows a challenging year for the firm, which supplied companies with $143 billion in short-term capital — as opposed to the $173 billion it planned to lend. The financing allows companies to extend the deadlines on bill payments.

The firm provides companies with working capital finance, “making finance fairer,” according to their site.

Greensill also had to forgive $435 million in financing that it supplied to Katerra, a construction startup that uses factory assembly to cut out the middleman and minimize building costs. Greensill received a 5 percent stake in Katerra for forgiving the loan, the value of which is unclear.

Katerra has struggled to avoid bankruptcy, also receiving $200 million from Softbank this year.  Both Greensill and Katerra are part of Softbank’s Vision Fund. Softbank invested almost $1.5 billion in Greensill back in 2019.

WSJ reached out to Softbank, who declined to comment.

And in May, the company warned firms not to abuse their supply chain finance offerings by delaying their payments to small business suppliers beyond 30 days.

Last fall, Greensill began preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO), by hiring a new auditor and adding a senior advisor and a nonexecutive board director.