LendingTree Secures $175 Million in Financing to ‘Navigate Current Market Environment’

LendingTree has secured up to $175 million in financing from funds managed by Apollo affiliates.

The company, which operates online financial services marketplace LendingTree.com, will draw $125 million of the first lien term loan facility upon funding, using it for general corporate purposes that may include the repayment of existing debt, according to a Wednesday (March 27) press release.

The remainder of the facility will be available as a delayed draw during the following 12 months, according to the release.

“This financing with Apollo Funds represents a critical step in the growth trajectory of our business as we build on the significant progress to-date in streamlining our company and fortifying our balance sheet while we continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and partners,” Trent Ziegler, chief financial officer of LendingTree, said in the release.

“With an improved financial position, we believe the business is well positioned to capitalize on attractive opportunities across the LendingTree ecosystem,” Ziegler added.

Apollo Partner Robert Givone said in the release: “We are pleased to support LendingTree with this customized financing solution to enhance the company’s financial flexibility and better position it to navigate the current market environment.”

LendingTree said in October that its revenue had been negatively impacted for several quarters by an economic backdrop in which successive Fed rate increases tightened financial conditions.

“Consumers have remained consistent in their search for financial products, but the availability of credit has contracted,” Ziegler and LendingTree Chairman and CEO Doug Lebda wrote in an Oct. 31 shareholder letter. “Lenders are less inclined to make loans in an environment with high inflation and a significantly increased cost of capital.”

VantageScore reported in January that consumer delinquencies for November 2023 remained elevated from the same month the prior year for all loan categories. In addition, late payments increased across all consumer groups, except those in the “superprime” group (those with credit scores between 781 and 850).

In February, it was reported that consumers are feeling more optimistic about their access to credit. “Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago improved notably,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data said Feb. 12.