Oracle, Greensill Pair For Construction Vendor Financing

Oracle and alternative lender Greensill are teaming up to facilitate early vendor payments in the construction sector.

In a press release on Wednesday (May 29), the companies announced their collaboration, which is aimed at accelerating payments to subcontractors by connecting them with supplier financing. The solution, dubbed Subcontractor Direct Finance, can unlock up to $100 billion of working capital in the construction sector, which is currently tied up in unpaid invoices, according to Greensill research.

The solution deploys Oracle’s Textura Payment Management Cloud Service, a payment management solution designed for the construction sector.

The firms did not reveal the fees or interest rates that vendors are provided when they utilize the funding solution.

“Subcontractor Direct Finance is a whole new way of doing business for companies of every size and scope in the U.S. construction industry,” said Greensill Founder and CEO Lex Greensill in a statement. “Simply put, a subcontractor’s days of waiting to be paid for their hard work are over.”

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Greensill’s supply chain finance fund collaboration with investment firm GAM saw about $1.8 billion pulled out by investors. At the time, a GAM spokesperson said fluctuations are “a regular part of this business,” but unnamed sources told the Financial News that such a dramatic drop in a fund’s value is not normal.

Soon after, Bloomberg reported that Greensill had raised $800 million from the SoftBank Vision Fund, which Greensill said would be used to focus on technology development and international expansion of its supply chain financing solutions. SoftBank’s investment in the firm propelled Greensill’s valuation to $3.5 billion, according to reports.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Greensill said the company would consider various options when it decides to raise funds once again, including a potential initial public offering (IPO).