Business Wire·Oct 14, 2026, 8:00 AM ET

Franklin Templeton and Benefit Street Partners Expand Asset-Backed Finance Capabilities with Encina Lender Finance Transaction

BEN

Franklin Templeton, Inc. and Benefit Street Partners (BSP) completed a transaction with Encina Lender Finance to expand BSP's asset-backed finance (ABF) platform.
The deal included the acquisition of a seed portfolio with approximately $480 million of commitments originated by Encina.
A 14-person investment team from Encina joined BSP to manage and originate investments through the strategy.
The combined ABF platform now spans corporate asset-backed lending, equipment leasing, aircraft leasing, consumer finance, & lender finance.
The expanded platform provides access to approximately 100 investment professionals & a track record dating to 2013.
The combined entity has completed over $10 billion of investments since inception & expects to originate more than $3 billion annually.
Encina focuses on providing senior secured, unitranche, & first-out financing to consumer & commercial asset originators across the US & Canada.
Under the terms of the deal, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Franklin Templeton & BSP.
Berkshire Global Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Encina Lender Finance, while Mayer Brown LLP and Winston Taylor LLP served as its legal counsel.
As of September 30, 2026, Franklin Templeton managed $1.8 trillion in assets, including over $300 billion in alternative assets.
BSP managed approximately $97 billion in assets as of August 31, 2026, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton.
Asset-backed finance accounted for around 20% of private credit fundraising in 2025, representing a significant segment of the $6 trillion global private credit market.