\n<\/p>\n
Mike Cagney’s financial technology firm Figure Technologies<\/strong><\/a> has taken another step to go public with its lending division, LendCo<\/strong>, hiring investment banks to coordinate the initial public offering (IPO), per a Bloomberg report. <\/p>\n People familiar with the transaction told Bloomberg that Figure is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.<\/strong>, JP Morgan Chase & Co. <\/strong>and Jefferies Financial Group Inc<\/strong>. for the IPO. Figure and the banks declined to comment. <\/p>\n The company’s lending arm, valued between $2 billion and $3 billion, is expected to go public in the first half of 2024. However, the report states there’s no final decision on the timing and valuation. Figure had a $3.2 billion valuation in a venture-backed funding round<\/a> in 2021. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Figure seeks to raise $50 million for its digital asset arm, according to Bloomberg. The division, which won’t be part of the IPO, will be led by Cagney, the former head of SoFi<\/strong>. A new CEO would be considered for LendCo. <\/p>\n Figure originated $900 million in loans and generated $2.7 million in adjusted profits in the second quarter of 2023, according to Cagney’s letter to investors and partners in July. The profitable lending business has more than a 50% contribution margin, he said in a meeting. <\/p>\n Founded in 2018 by Cagney, Figure tried to go public before. <\/p>\n The company planned to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)\u00a0Figure Acquisition Corp.<\/strong>\u00a0in 2022. However, it was scrapped with the blank check company getting delisted from the\u00a0New York Stock Exchange<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Figure also announced its intention to merge with Homebridge Financial Services<\/strong> in 2022, which fell apart<\/a> due to regulatory delays. CMG <\/strong>acquired Homebridge’s<\/a> retail assets in March. <\/p>\n In July, Figure laid off 20% of its staff<\/a>, about half of them engineers, in its first round of staff reductions. <\/p>\n Figure uses the proprietary platform Provenance Blockchain for loan origination, equity management, private fund services, banking and payments. <\/p>\n In June, it rolled out a wholesale lending platform<\/a> that gives loan originators access to the company’s home equity line of credit<\/a> offering.<\/p>\n CMG Financial<\/strong>, CrossCountry Mortgage<\/strong>, Fairway Independent Mortgage<\/strong> and The Loan Store <\/strong>are Figure’s private-label partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n