Marlette Funding LLC, the Wilmington, Del. company that arranges Best Egg-brand unsecured personal loans, says it has raised $75 million in equity funding from investors led by Invus Group, New York, and from publicly-traded Navient, the Wilmington-based Sallie Mae student-loan-collection spin-off, "to accelerate growth, further its partnership agenda" and begin booking loans on its own balance sheet instead of just through partners.
Marlette says it has made loans totalling more than $1 billion since early 2014, and expects to raise $450 million from banks and other lenders to finance more loans. Marlette is "an emerging star in this multibillion-dollar, online lending market," said Invus partner Ben Tsai in a statement. The company employs 70, and plans to add 30 by year end, says spokeswoman Alison Guzzio.