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Athena Homes advised on ‘industry record’ capital raise
LegalVision has advised Athena Home Loans on its $90 million Series D round.
Natasha Taylor
Firm: LegalVision (Athena Home Loans).
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Deal: LegalVision has advised Athena Home Loans on an industry record capital raise of $90 million. The funding broke the record for the largest capital raise completed entirely by local backers.
Value: $90 million.
Area: Corporate.
Key players: The LegalVision team was led by practice leader Jill McKnight, who was assisted by lawyer Sophie Mao.
Deal significance: According to the firm’s statement, the round, led by Square Peg Capital, saw participation from AirTree Ventures, AustralianSuper, Sunsuper, Hostplus, Salesforce Ventures, Macquarie Bank, and Apex Capital.
Athena Home Loans, an Australian mortgage industry fintech disruptor, offers low-rate home loans with no fees. The company’s innovative technology provides a competitive alternative to traditional banks, designed to help Australian home buyers pay off their home loan faster.
Founded in 2017 by former NAB bankers Nathan Walsh and Michael Starkey, Athena has grown its loan book by 500 per cent since it closed its $70 million Series C round in September 2019. The business has now passed a milestone of $2.5 billion in settled loans.
“It was a great pleasure to work with Athena Home Loans again. We have advised them on each of their five capital raises since inception. It’s fantastic to see their mortgage offering validated by yet another hugely successful capital raise,” said Ms McKnight.
“Athena’s exponential growth in the local market shows just how hungry Australian consumers are for an alternative to the traditional banks. We have no doubt this startup will continue to shine.”
“This is a very exciting time for us, and for Australians wanting to buy a home. Our innovative approach, together with our proprietary mortgage platform, is providing real competition in the market, which in turn is benefiting consumers,” said Mr Walsh, who is the Athena Home Loans co-founder and chief executive.
“Jill and Sophie’s advice during this record-breaking round was invaluable. It’s the fifth capital raise we’ve done with LegalVision and, as always, they made sure we closed the round extremely smoothly and on great terms. Their expertise in the venture capital space is second-to-none.”
