Earnest, the online lending startup, is seeking to raise $50 million in new equity as it simultaneously looks for a buyer, according to people familiar with the situation.
The San Francisco-based company hired Barclays as an adviser to pursue the so-called “dual-track” process, the people said. One of the people confirmed a Bloomberg report on Monday that Earnest hired Barclays to sell the company for about $200 million, which the person said was lower than its previous, undisclosed, valuation. Earnest has previously raised $100 million in equity as well as $200 million in debt, according to Crunchbase.
