Oaktree, iBorrow expand JV to boost originations up to $1 billion in 2023 

A joint venture between investment manager Oaktree Capital Management and bridge loan specialist iBorrow aims to boost its originations between $800 million and $1 billion in 2023.

After closing on $612 million non-recourse senior debt via their partnership over the last year, the pair expect to accelerate their opportunistic investments this year and have roughly $100 million of new loans expected to close within the next two weeks. 

The Los Angeles-based duo originate fixed- and floating-rate loans of up to $100 million on all value-added property types. Terms for the loams typically range from one to three years, with an average loan size of $15 million. 

While originations are funded jointly, iBorrow sources many of the lending opportunities and handles loan servicing. Many of the loans are leveraged via a credit facility provided by Stamford, Connecticut-based Webster Bank.  

The credit line was recently renewed for three years, enabling the partnership to grow its loan portfolio at a time of heightened demand for private financing programs, said Andrew Smith, who oversees capital markets activities at iBorrow. “We are comfortable with lending on complex situations,” he said, adding that they can close on a financing in a matter of weeks if necessary.  

The joint venture’s book of outstanding loans is roughly $600 million. 

Recent activity 

This time last year, Oaktree Capital Management paired up with Veleta Capital to form a new strategic commercial real estate lending platform, Veleta Capital Partners. 

That venture was designed provide 12- to 36-month senior secured transitional loans on multifamily and commercial real estate assets of up to $20 million.  

Meanwhile, iBorrow made a plethora of mid-sized loans toward the end of 2022 – including a $17 million refinancing for two multifamily assets in Southern California; a $15 million loan to refinance to the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Santa Clarita, California; and a $24.9 million bridge loan to refinance a 173-key Holiday Inn Express & Suites asset in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.