Fortress Investment Group is set to acquire $2 billion in loans originated by Wayflyer, the Irish fintech platform that has carved out a niche financing e-commerce businesses.
For Wayflyer, which achieved unicorn status back in 2022 with a $1.6 billion valuation, the transaction provides the kind of capital backing that turns a fast-growing lender into a durable one.
What Fortress gets, and what Wayflyer needs
Fortress has been on something of a shopping spree in fintech credit. In April 2025, the firm extended $2 billion to SoFi’s loan platform, a deal that underscored its appetite for consumer and SMB lending assets originated by technology-driven platforms.
Fortress has operated independently since a management-led acquisition backed by Mubadala Investment Company in 2024.
Wayflyer has deployed over $6 billion in financing to more than 7,000 businesses since its founding in 2019. Its bread and butter is revenue-based financing, where loan sizes typically range from $5,000 to $20 million, targeting online merchants who need working capital to buy inventory or fund marketing campaigns.
Revenue-based financing means businesses repay a fixed amount as a percentage of their revenue rather than through traditional fixed monthly payments.
In February 2026, Wayflyer secured a $250 million credit facility with ATLAS SP Partners specifically to support new originations.
What investors should watch
The Fortress-Wayflyer deal, if finalized as reported, would validate the revenue-based financing model at institutional scale and demonstrates that alternative asset managers are willing to commit multi-billion-dollar sums to non-bank lending platforms.
Wayflyer’s $150 million Series B in 2022 valued the company at $1.6 billion. With cumulative lending now past the $6 billion mark and institutional backers like Fortress and ATLAS SP Partners in its corner, the company is positioning itself as a durable player in the alternative SME finance landscape, competing with firms such as Clearco and Pipe.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
