Avant Secures $250 Million In Funding From Ares Management Corporation

Avant, LLC, a credit-first financial technology company* that provides access to innovative financial solutions to underserved non-prime consumers ("Avant"), today announced it secured $250 million of corporate debt and redeemable preferred equity from Ares Management Alternative Credit funds ("Ares").

"Avant has established a track record of success over the course of a decade of delivering on our mission to empower customers to reach their goals with innovative solutions designed to move their financial lives forward," said Matt Bochenek, CEO of Avant. "This capital infusion from Ares will further fuel our credit portfolio and next-gen platform, enabling stronger competitive advantage."

This funding follows a $250 million securitization in September and several other success markers in 2022. In January, the Avant Credit Card, issued by WebBank, surpassed one million customers. In August, the financial technology company unveiled a new multi-year exclusive partnership with Major League Soccer ("MLS") for a co-branded fan affinity credit card that will be powered by Avant and issued by WebBank.

"We are excited to support the Avant platform through this next phase of growth," said Jeffrey Kramer, Partner in the Ares Alternative Credit strategy. "Our flexible capital base helped us meet Avant's evolving needs, and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship."

Avant's September securitization brought the total amount of asset-backed debt financing commitments secured by Avant in 2022 to $1.1 billion and Avant's total commitments to over $1.6 billion to support its consumer credit portfolios. These commitments illustrate Avant's ability to successfully navigate economic cycles and increase the resiliency of Avant's funding profile. To date, Avant has provided access to over $9 billion in credit serving almost three million customers.

FT Partners served as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Avant and its Board of Directors on this transaction. For more information, visit Avant's website: https://www.avant.com/.

About Avant

Avant is a credit-first financial technology company^* that provides access to innovative financial solutions, including personal loans and credit cards, championing customers on their financial journey. Through a combination of technology, analytics, and superior customer service, the Avant platform is designed to serve the non-prime U.S. consumer, largely underserved by traditional financial institutions. We're on a mission to move our customers Financially Forwardtm to reach their financial goals. Since 2012, Avant has connected almost 3 million customers to $8 billion in loans and over 1 million credit cards. Avant has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TechCrunch, Fortune, and Bloomberg.

*Avant, LLC is a financial technology company, not a bank. Avant-branded credit products are issued by WebBank.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2022, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $341 billion of assets under management, with over 2,450 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

About Alternative Credit

Ares' Alternative Credit strategy focuses on lending to and investing in assets that generate contractual cash flows and fills gaps in the capital markets between credit, private equity and real estate. Ares Alternative Credit targets investments across the capital structure in specialty finance, lender finance, loan portfolios, equipment leasing, structured products, net lease, cash flow streams (royalties, licensing, management fees), and other asset-focused investments. Co-Headed by Keith Ashton and Joel Holsinger, Ares Alternative Credit leverages a broadly skilled and cohesive team of approximately 50 investment professionals as of September 30, 2022. Aligning Ares' investment activities with its societal impact, Ares and Alternative Credit portfolio managers have committed to donating a portion of carried interest from certain Alternative Credit funds to global health and education charities.