LexShares Launches $100 Million Litigation Finance Fund

By John Freund |

LexShares, a leader in commercial litigation finance, today announced the launch of LexShares Marketplace Fund II (LMFII). With a $100 million target fund size, LMFII will invest in litigation-related assets offered on the LexShares platform. LMFII opens on the heels of the company’s 100th legal claim investment, making LexShares one of the most active litigation funding firms in the world.

The firm closed LexShares Marketplace Fund I in January 2018, which was fully subscribed for $25 million. Prior to this public launch, LMFII received commitments in excess of $30 million, which includes two cornerstone institutional investors. LMFII is now accepting commitments from both institutional and individual accredited investors at lexshares.com.

“Six years ago, we founded LexShares. Two years ago, we launched our first dedicated litigation finance fund. Today, underpinned by a proven track record and an increasingly strong pipeline of investment opportunities, we continue our mission of providing investors unparalleled access to high-quality investments in litigation finance–a traditionally hard-to-access asset class,” said Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jay Greenberg. “We are thankful for the support we have received from our community of investors who entrust us as stewards of their capital. Their confidence and enthusiasm have enabled us to establish this milestone Fund II.”

As of June 10, LexShares has invested in 103 case offerings. Of those, 43 investments have resolved, resulting in a 52% median IRR net of fees and expenses. Over the past year, LexShares’ average investment per case offering was $1,460,607, up from $845,250 the year prior. Investments as of January 1, 2019 represent 48% of all capital deployed since the firm was founded in 2014. LexShares’ proprietary origination technology platform, the Diamond Mine, has sourced more than one million case investment opportunities since the company launched the software in 2016. As a result, LexShares’ in-house investment team has collectively underwritten over $2.63 billion in funding opportunities–$855 million in the past year alone.

“Demand for litigation funding has grown dramatically since we founded LexShares,” explained Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Max Volsky. “To date, we have had a great deal of success in servicing the commercial litigation finance middle market. LMFII positions us to invest in a greater number of commercial cases as well as offer portfolio funding and other novel financial products to our growing network of law firms.”

Accredited investors are now able to access the LexShares Marketplace Fund II investor presentation, and invest directly on LexShares’ website.

About LexShares

LexShares is a leading litigation finance firm, with an innovative approach to originating and financing high-value commercial legal claims. LexShares funds litigation-related matters, primarily originated by its proprietary Diamond Mine software, through both its online marketplace and dedicated litigation finance fund. Founded in 2014, the company is privately owned with principal offices in Boston and New York City. For more information, visit lexshares.com.

About LexShares Marketplace Fund II

LexShares Marketplace Fund II (LMFII) is the company’s second discretionary fund dedicated to providing access to a portfolio of litigation-related assets. LMFII has retained Seward & Kissel LLP as its legal counsel, BDO USA, LLP for tax and auditing services, and SS&C Technologies Inc. as its fund administrator.

Additionally, LMFII has secured a principal protection insurance policy from AmTrust International Insurance, Ltd., an industry-leading global insurance provider. Investors can elect to cover all or a portion of their commitment to LMFII with this policy. LMFII is now open for investment directly on lexshares.com.

This release may contain “forward looking statements” which are not guaranteed. Investment opportunities posted on LexShares are offered by WealthForge Securities, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA / SIPC. LexShares and WealthForge are separate entities. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy interests in the LexShares Marketplace Fund II (LMFII), which may only be made at the time a qualified subscriber receives the confidential investor packet (the “Investor Packet”) which includes the confidential private placement memorandum of LMFII, describing the offering. The interests in LMFII shall not be offered or sold in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or sale would be unlawful until the requirements of the laws of such jurisdiction have been satisfied. In the case of any inconsistency between the descriptions or terms in this release and the Investor Packet, the Investor Packet shall control. Each prospective investor should consult its own attorney, business adviser and tax adviser as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the information contained herein. Investment opportunities offered by LexShares are “private placements” of securities that are not publicly traded, are not able to be voluntarily redeemed or sold, and are intended for investors who do not need a liquid investment. Investors must be able to afford the loss of their entire investment without a change to their lifestyle. Historical performance information is not indicative of future performance or investment returns, and prospective investors should not view the performance information as an indicator of the future performance of LMFII. Investments in legal claims are speculative, carry a high degree of risk and may result in loss of entire investment. Returns are based on principal’s internal reporting for offerings through the LexShares platform reaching resolution as of June 10, 2020. Results reported reflect the simple median annualized rate of return per the xirr function, net of fees and expenses. The insurance protection policy is subject to terms and conditions which should be reviewed in full in the Investor Packet and considered before a decision is made to proceed with insurance protection.

Announcements

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Burford Capital Announces Date for Release of 1Q24 Financial Results and Results Call Registration and Participation Details

By Harry Moran |

Burford Capital Limited ("Burford"), the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today announces that it will release its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 ("1Q24") on Monday, May 13, 2024, at 7.00am EDT / 12.00pm BST.

Burford will hold a conference call for investors and analysts at 8.00am EDT / 1.00pm BST on Monday, May 13, 2024. The dial-in numbers for the conference call are +1 646 307-1963 (USA) or +1 800 715-9871 (USA & Canada toll free) / +44 (0)20 3481 4247 (UK) or +44 800 260 6466 (UK toll free) and the access code is 7684047. To minimize the risk of delayed access, participants are urged to dial into the conference call by 7.40am EDT / 12.40pm BST.

A live webcast of the call will also be available at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/323980508, and pre-registration at that link is encouraged.

An accompanying 1Q24 results presentation for investors and analysts will also be made available on Burford's website prior to the conference call at http://investors.burfordcapital.com.Following the conference call, a replay facility for this event will be accessible through the webcast at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/323980508.

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Darrow Names Mathew Keshav Lewis As Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager

By John Freund |

Darrow, the leading AI-powered justice intelligence platform, today announced the appointment of Mathew Keshav Lewis as its first Chief Revenue Officer and US General Manager. Lewis brings over 20 years of experience driving revenue and growth for high-profile legal and technology companies – including SaaS platform Dealpath, alternative investment platform Yieldstreet, and legal services pioneer Axiom Law – and will be responsible for helping Darrow scale as it continues an accelerated growth trajectory. 

"Mathew's arrival at Darrow opens enterprise-level deals to all plaintiff law firms, previously accessible only to a select few,” said Evyatar Ben Artzi, CEO and Co-Founder of Darrow. “His expertise from YieldStreet and Axiom empowers our partners to leverage AI, driving unprecedented growth and innovation.” 

Lewis, who will be based in Darrow’s New York headquarters, joins Darrow after serving as the first Chief Revenue Officer of Dealpath, a real estate deal management platform. He also previously held the role of Chief Revenue Officer and GM, Investments at Yieldstreet, where he drove record revenue and growth for the investment platform. 

“I’m delighted to join a team of tremendously talented individuals at Darrow, who have already disrupted the legal technology space and forged the path ahead,” said Mathew Keshav Lewis, Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager of Darrow. “I am inspired by Darrow’s progress to date, and I look forward to working alongside Darrow’s growing team to expand the company’s footprint.”

This announcement comes at a period of rapid growth for the company, which completed its $35 million Series B funding round last year. Darrow currently works on active litigation valued over $10 billion across legal domains such as privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust. 

About Darrow: Founded in 2020, Darrow is a LegalTech company on a mission to fuel law firm growth and deliver justice for victims of class and mass action lawsuits. Darrow's AI-powered justice intelligence platform leverages generative AI and world-class legal experts and technologists to uncover egregious violations across legal domains spanning privacy and data breach, consumer protection, securities and financial fraud, environment, and employment. Darrow is based out of New York City and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit: darrow.ai

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Omni Bridgeway Releases Investment Portfolio Report for 3Q24

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX: OBL) (Omni Bridgeway, OBL, Group) announces the key investment performance metrics for the three months ended 31 March 2024 (3Q24, Quarter) and for the financial year to date (FYTD).

Summary

  • Investment income of A$296 million FYTD; A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL.
  • 23 full completions, 17 partial completions FYTD, with an overall multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of2.0x.
  • A$333 million of new commitments FYTD with a corresponding A$447 million in new fair value, on track to achieve our A$625 million target.
  • Pricing remains at improved levels, up 32% for the FYTD compared to FY23.
  • Strong pipeline, with agreed term sheets outstanding for an estimated A$212 million in new commitments.
  • OBL cash and receivables of A$101 million plus A$60 million in undrawn debt at 31 March 2024.
  • A$4.4 billion of possible estimated portfolio value (EPV) in completions over the next 12 months. 
  • Further simplification and enhancement of our disclosures as announced at the Annual General Meeting, comprising non-IFRS OBL-only financials and non-IFRS fair value on a portfolio basis and OBL-only basis.
  • These new disclosures and metrics, as well as a valuation framework for our existing book and platform, were presented at our investor day on 27 March 2024.

Refer to https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

Key metrics and developments for the Quarter

Income and completions

  • Investment income of A$296 million generated from A$193 million income recognised and A$103 million income yet to be recognised (IYTBR), with A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL FYTD (excluding management and performance fees). 
  • During the Quarter, 11 full completions and 11 partial completions (excluding IYTBR), resulting in 23 full completions and 17 partial completions (excluding IYTBR) FYTD, and one secondary market transaction, with a FYTD overall MOIC of 2.0x.

New commitments

  • Our stated targets for FY24 include A$625 million in new commitments or equivalent value, prioritising value over volume to reflect potential for improved pricing of new commitments.
  • FYTD new commitments of A$333 million at 31 March 2024 (from matters that were newly funded, conditionally approved or had increased investment opportunities). 
  • The fair value associated with these commitments is $447million, 72% of the full year value generation target.
  • Pipeline of 37 agreed exclusive term sheets, representing approximately A$212 million in investment opportunities, which if converted into funded investments is a further 34% of our FY24 commitments target.  
  • In addition to the regular new commitments to investments in the existing funds FYTD, an additional A$11.5 million of external co-fundings were secured for these investments to manage fund concentration limits. OBL will be entitled to management fees as well as performance fees on such external co-funding.

Portfolio review

  • A$4.4 billion of EPV is assessed to possibly complete in the 12 months following the end of the quarter. This 12 month rolling EPV is based on investments which are subject to various stages of (anticipated) settlement discussions or for which an award or a judgment is expected. All or only part of these may actually complete during the 12 month period.
  • We anticipate replacing these final EPV metrics with fair value metrics by the end of this financial year.

Cash reporting and financial position

  • At 31 March 2024, the Group held A$100.7 million in cash and receivables (A$62.8 million in OBL balance sheet cash, A$2.0 million in OBL balance sheet receivables and A$35.9 million of OBL share of cash and receivables within Funds) plus access to a further A$60 million in debt.
  • In aggregate, we have approximately A$161 million to meet operational needs, interest payments, and fund investments before recognising any investment completions, secondary market sales, management and transaction fees, and associated fund performance fees.
  • Post Quarter-end and as per the date of this report, in anticipation of the expiry of the availability period of the debt facility, OBL has drawn down the A$60 million in undrawn debt and received the funds.

Investor day

The investor day presentation and Q&A which took place on 27 March 2024 can be viewed at https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

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