September 30, 2020 – New York, NY – Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LLC (“Kennedy Lewis”), an opportunistic credit manager, has funded a $50 million committed secured corporate loan facility (the “Loan”) to Tricolor Auto (“Tricolor”), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and one of the nation’s largest used vehicle retailers focusing on the sale and financing of vehicles to underserved communities.  The Loan provides financing to Tricolor against its portfolio of auto receivables and highlights Kennedy Lewis’ expertise in structuring complex lending facilities to specialty finance companies. This infusion of funds will support Tricolor’s efforts to continue to scale its platform and retail network, as well as increase access to its responsible auto financing options.

Dik Blewitt, Kennedy Lewis’ Partner, Head of Tactical Opportunities and Co-Head of ESG Investments, said: “We are excited to partner with Tricolor and its outstanding team with whom we have an aligned ambition to extend responsible financial products to underserved communities. We continue to be impressed by Tricolor’s exceptional reputation, differentiated business model and proprietary technology. We look forward to working with the company to significantly grow its footprint.”

There are more than 45 million people in the United States who are considered credit invisible, which limits their financing options for a major purchase, such as a motor vehicle. Tricolor’s innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning provides underserved customers with access to affordable financing on high quality, certified vehicles in order to enhance the quality of their lives and ultimately help them to build a better future. Since its founding in 2007, the company has served over 65,000 customers and disbursed over $1 billion in affordable auto loans by using its proprietary model to segment risk.

Daniel Chu, Founder and CEO of Tricolor, said of the partnership, “We are excited to partner with Kennedy Lewis given its impressive track record and industry expertise. This funding comes at a time of rapid growth for Tricolor and will help fuel the continued expansion of our responsible lending platform so that we can provide affordable, credit building auto loans to even more underserved Hispanic consumers.”

About Tricolor

Tricolor is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and mission-driven company which sells and finances high quality, certified used motor vehicles through its premium brands, Tricolor Auto Group in Texas and Ganas Auto Group in California, utilizing advanced data analytics and technology to advance financial inclusion to a highly underserved market and offer responsible, affordable, credit-building auto loans to individuals with no or limited credit history.

Headquartered in Dallas, Tricolor and its affiliate Ganas Auto Group operate 38 retail dealerships across 12 markets in Texas and California, as well as a shared services center in Guadalajara, Mexico.

About Kennedy Lewis

Kennedy Lewis (www.klimllc.com) is an opportunistic credit manager founded in 2017 by David K. Chene and Darren L. Richman. It pursues event-driven situations in which a catalyst may unlock value and focuses primarily on corporate and structured credit opportunities in North America and Europe.