Glendale-based AVANA Companies and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management L.P. recently announced the formation of a new $250 million AVANA-Oaktree Private Credit Partnership for its direct private commercial real estate lending strategy.

Through the joint venture, AVANA will use the capital to provide private debt financing in the United States in the next three years.

AOPCP aims to invigorate local economies and create jobs. The funding will provide small- and medium-sized enterprises in the commercial real estate sector with access to capital in the form of bridge and construction loans for all consumer real estate products.

“Oaktree has firsthand experience through past partnerships with AVANA. The AVANA team’s unparalleled expertise and reputation in the CRE lending industry aligns with our focus on risk control in private credit investments,” stated Justin Guichard, managing director and co-portfolio manager at Oaktree.

Recently, AVANA Companies entered a partnership with a national hospitality group to provide franchisers with capital to develop and renovate commercial properties across the United States.

“Our ability to build capital for a better tomorrow lies in our team’s deep-rooted history in lending and the trust we have in our partners at Oaktree,” stated Sanat Patel, chief lending officer and co-founder of AVANA.

Since 2002, AVANA has served more than 500 small businesses with 66% of their entrepreneurial customers being black, indigenous and people of color AVANA has funded $1B in loans to minority entrepreneurs, which have directly and indirectly created more than 5,500 jobs.

“After 22 years of working within the CRE industry and SMEs, we recognize the challenges of this tight lending environment and that’s why we are challenging our team to lend $250 million in the first year,” said Sundip Patel, CEO and co-founder of AVANA Companies. “This capital from Oaktree enables us to multiply our social impact exponentially, offering financing opportunities to entrepreneurs and supporting financial inclusion."

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