Print

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

http://venturebeat.com/2010/03/30/prosper-raising-13-3m-to-15-8m-round-for-peer-to-peer-lending-market/

Peer-to-peer lending market Prosper is in the midst of raising a $13.3 – $15.8 million fourth round of funding, the company announced today.

The company’s lending market currently has nearly a million members, and so far, those members have funded 32,000 loans totaling more than $193 million. The company said it has signed a letter of intent with new and existing investors to raise the round, which is expected to close by April 15.

To date, the San Francisco-based company has raised $43 million. According to Deutsche Bank Research, Prosper is the largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace. Gartner forecasts this industry will grow to $5 billion in outstanding loans by 2013. In February, Prosper said the average borrower credit score was 724 and that 40 percent of loans are going to borrowers with credit scores of 760 or higher. Borrowers generally use Prosper to consolidate their loans. Users have posted requests for $1.8 billion in loans.

Prosper announced in November that it had raised $1 million in a third round. Before that, Prosper raised $41 million in two prior rounds. That last round was noteworthy, though, because the money came from Nigel W. Morris, co-founder of Capital One, a major credit card and banking company.

Competitor Lending Club raised $12 million in March, 2009, and has raised more than $22 million in all.

[ira01]

I honestly don't understand why anyone would invest in Prosper, which is withering away.  Its originations are anemic and shrinking.  Talk about throwing good money after bad.

[112233]

nearly a million members

still including people buried in the graveyard in their population I see

[Xenon481]

They are a day early on the April Fools joke.

[Investar]

     http://venturebeat.com/2010/03/30/prosper-raising-13-3m-to-15-8m-round-for-peer-to-peer-lending-market/
     "...Prosper is in the midst of raising a $13.3 – $15.8 million fourth round of funding, the company announced today [March 30,2010]..."

More like leaked than "announced." No press release on the Prosper media pages. Where did these folks get their numbers? Last I heard Prosper was trying for $5 million.

[MatthewDP]

http://blog.prosper.com/2010/03/31/prosper-closing-in-on-200-million-in-loans-and-series-d/

[NewHorizon]

FWIW, the venturebeat.com link - leak or no - went up on Tiffany Fox's twitter page late last night.

ETA: That'd be the 30th.  The blog article is dated the 31st.

[NewHorizon]

Prosper crossed the $1 billion mark in consumer loan demand in March 2008 and is now up to $1.8 billion in demand.

What's "loan demand"?  Total dollar amount of all the listings that was ever posted?

[112233]

"raising", not "raised"

eg, Im raising $5B to go to the moon but I haven't raised it yet. So far I only have a nickle and 3 quarters.

[divindj]

wake me up when this ACTUALLY CLOSES... i remember back in the dot bomb boom when the company i was working for was allegedly getting their series C on December 15th and all we got were PINKSLIPS on Dec 15th when the funding didn't happen.

i would call for an immediate drug test of any VC employee who okays their fund to invest in the Prosper series D...

[112233]

if this closes, can I assume there are some ulterior motives at play here?

[NewHorizon]

The more I think about it, the more odd the announcement seems to me...

First, I think this is the first time Prosper felt the need to announce the letters of intent.  IIRC, they've always announced done deals in the past.

Second, why the need to release this announcement exactly today, the last day of March - the day before the $2mil bridge loan comes due if there's no more funding?

I mean what is Prosper accomplishing by announcing the funding before it it closes?

[Investar]

     http://blog.prosper.com/2010/03/31/prosper-closing-in-on-200-million-in-loans-and-series-d/

I stand corrected. This news was not "leaked" but rather, prioritized. First we tell the world then we inform our community. Lemmie see.... I believe this was the first time, ever, lenders were relegated to second fiddle at a Prosper event.
 

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

Looks like Tiffany got a promotion. 

Since we know she reads here...Congrats, Tiffany!

[112233]

is there a new director of communications?