Blacktree Management LLC, an independent asset manager focused on Small Business Administration (SBA) loan aggregation, securitisation, and esoteric ABS strategies, announced on June 26th the launch of a new SBA and esoteric asset-backed finance platform. The platform will target investments across guaranteed and unguaranteed portions of SBA loans, whole loans, and other consumer and commercial esoteric ABS.
The platform will be led by Founder and Managing Partner Ergkys Alizoti, a recognised specialist in the SBA secondary market and structured finance. Over his career, Mr Alizoti has led, structured, and securitised more than $16.5 billion of SBA loan securitisations across 17 private transactions, establishing a strong track record across multiple market cycles.
“Asset-backed finance is one of the fastest-growing corners of private credit and a less-correlated alternative to corporate credit. The most durable opportunities sit in pockets of capital scarcity, where informational and structuring expertise create the real barriers to entry. Specialist capital remains limited in SBA and esoteric ABS, and Blacktree is built as a dedicated platform to source, underwrite, and structure across the asset class,” said Mr Alizoti.
Affiliates of Fortress Investment Group (“Fortress”), a leading, highly diversified global investment manager, have signed a strategic partnership with Blacktree in support of the new platform. Odeon Capital Group LLC (“Odeon”), an SBA pool assembler, will serve as a structuring and execution partner to the platform, supporting loan aggregation, securitisation execution, and transaction structuring.
“Asset-based finance has been core to Fortress’s investing strategy for more than two decades, and we’ve consistently seen that compelling opportunities in this market are captured by managers with deep specialisation,” said Mario Rivera, Global Head of Asset-Backed Securities at Fortress Investment Group. “We believe that Blacktree’s focus and track record in SBA and esoteric ABS give the team an exceptionally strong position to capitalise on attractive opportunities in structured credit.”
“We are excited to leverage the deep sector expertise of both Fortress and Odeon as we build Blacktree into a scaled, institutional-grade investment platform,” said Mr Alizoti. “Their partnership provides strong validation of our strategy and gives us additional resources to deploy capital with discipline as we seek to deliver consistent, risk-adjusted performance for our investors.”
