NEW YORK, NY and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 17, 2024 – Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that it has agreed to purchase up to $300 million of equity sharing home loans from Unison, the pioneer of equity sharing agreements. In addition, Carlyle made a strategic investment into Unison. This partnership will enable Unison to launch the Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan product and allow homeowners to access their growing pool of home equity as homes continue to appreciate.
U.S. homeowners have almost $32 trillion in home equity, but many are not refinancing their current low-interest first mortgages, which results in their biggest asset being inaccessible as homes continue to appreciate.
Unison’s newly launched Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan seeks to combine the benefits of home loans and home equity sharing agreements into a unique mortgage solution that allows homeowners to manage personal financial goals by converting home equity into cash with low monthly payments. This product offers homeowners a fixed below-market interest rate for accessing a portion of their home equity, while also allowing them to make use of the appreciation potential of their home.
“Our collaboration with Carlyle enables the Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan to turn dormant home equity into an active tool for financial empowerment for millions of Americans,” said Thomas Sponholtz, founder and CEO of Unison.
Matthew O’Hara, Chief Investment Officer at Unison added that “we aim to provide homeowners with the financial stability and flexibility lacking in traditional loan products and this partnership creates a win-win situation for both homeowners and Carlyle as an investment partner.”
“We are excited to partner with Unison to provide an attractive solution for homeowners to access their appreciating home equity,” said Akhil Bansal, Head of Credit Strategic Solutions at Carlyle. “Unison is a leader in equity sharing agreements and we’re confident our expertise in asset-backed finance can help increase origination and awareness for this new capital solution for homeowners.”
This transaction was led by Carlyle’s Credit Strategic Solutions (“CSS”), a group within the Global Credit business focused on private fixed income and asset-backed investments. The highly experienced team leverages the knowledge, sourcing, structuring, and breadth of the entire Carlyle investment platform to deliver tailored asset-focused financing solutions to businesses, specialty finance companies, banks, asset managers, and other originators and owners of diversified pools of assets. CSS has deployed nearly $5 billion since 2021 and has roughly $7 billion in assets under management as of June 30th, 2024.
About Carlyle
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $435 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2024, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 29 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.
About Unison
Based in San Francisco and Omaha, Unison is pioneering a smarter, better way to own your home. Until now, the only way to harvest hard-earned equity was by selling your home, or taking on enormous additional debt. Through Unison equity sharing agreements and equity sharing home loans, we help homeowners access their equity in a new and innovative way with low or no monthly payments. We are an investment management company with over $1.8 billion in assets under management, and we furnish investors with the opportunity to access the returns associated with home price appreciation, minus the overhead of home ownership. Our equity sharing agreements have empowered 12,000 households to pursue financial wellness, and we’re proud to continue to enhance home affordability, reduce debt, and deliver a less risky way for homeowners, investors, and society to think about that important asset – the home. For additional information, visit www.unison.com and www.unisonim.com.
Media Contacts
Kristen Ashton
Phone: +1 212-813-4763
kristen.ashton@carlyle.com
Carlyle
Gary Bird
FortyThree, Inc.
Phone: + 1 831-888-9011
unison@43pr.com
Unison
