[ACCESSWIRE]
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 11, 2018 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on smallcap and microcap public companies, today announced it has issued an update on IEG Holdings Corporation (OTCQB: IEGH).
The report is available here: IEGH January 2018 Update Note.
IEG Holdings Corporation (OTCQB: IEGH) provides online unsecured consumer loans under the brand name "Mr. Amazing Loans" via its website, www.mramazingloans.com, in 20 US states. The company offers $5,000 and $10,000 personal loans over a five-year term at rates ranging from 19.9% to 29.9% APR. IEG Holdings plans future expansion to a total of 25 US states, which would cover 240mn people and represent approximately 75% of the US population.
Since 2013, IEGH has obtained additional state lending licenses, and they are licensed and originating direct consumer loans in 20 states including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Highlights from the note include:
IEGH announces tender offer for up to 4.99% of LendingClub
On January 5, 2018, IEGH announced the commencement of a tender offer for shares of LendingClub Corporation (LC, "Lending Club"), which is set to expire on February 22, 2018. As part of the offer, IEGH will offer 13 shares of its common stock for each legally tendered share of common stock in LendingClub, up to an aggregate of 20,701,999 shares of LendingClub stock. If fully subscribed, the offer would represent 4.99% of LendingClub's outstanding shares as of October 31, 2017. IEGH previously attempted a LendingClub tender offer in July 2017 but withdrew it in August 2017 without closing or obtaining shares. The company did close a tender offer for shares of OneMain Holdings (OMF) in June 2017, and subsequently sold the shares at the discretion of management. We are not aware of a company the size of IEGH successfully acquiring control or meaningful influence over a company the size of LendingClub by way of a common share tender exchange.
IEG Holdings Plans to Create its own IEGH Crypto/Blockchain Currency Backed by Gold Metal and SEC Registration as a Security
IEGH announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Investment Evolution Crypto, LLC ("Crypto"), is negotiating to purchase a gold project with gold metal in the ground and prospecting licenses. IEG Holdings plans to utilize a gold resource to investigate creating, through Crypto, and a joint venture with Investment Evolution Corporation, also a wholly owned subsidiary of IEG Holdings, its own gold metal-backed crypto/blockchain currency, and potentially offer loans and accept loan repayments in its own crypto/blockchain currency. Crypto has not begun material operations and is in the development planning stages to explore these crypto/blockchain opportunities in this time of changing technology. Prior to launching these plans, Crypto will investigate the legalities and economic risks and benefits of its plans. Any crypto currency offering will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
IEGH increases loan originations
IEGH provided an update to its lending activities over the last several months on January 2, 2018. The company stated that it provided $960,000 in new consumer loans through its online property mramazingloans.com, from the October 2017 to December 2017 period. This represented a 12.3% increase over its July to September 2017 operating period, during which the company's new loan originations were $855,000. As we noted in prior coverage of the company, IEGH appears to have increased its advertising expenses, which supports growth in loan originations. Since January 2015, the cumulative amount of loan volume issued by the company has increased by 192% to $16.2mn, from $5.5mn.
IEGH planning new crypto / blockchain business
In late December 2017, IEGH announced that it would enter the cryptocurrency space with the incorporation of a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Investment Evolution Crypto, LLC. The new entity will explore the practicality and legality of working with Mr. Amazing Loans to accept payment for customer loans by way of Crypto / Blockchain currencies such as Bitcoin, provide the crypto currency equivalent of $5,000 and $10,000 loans, and potentially issue its own cryptocurrency. The decision to enter the cryptocurrency space is understandable for IEGH, which already has an existing business issuing $5,000 and $10,000 consumer loans through online channels, and IEGH may be able to leverage the interest in cryptocurrency to grow its business and raise new capital that could be deployed to grow its loan book.
No change to price target
Our price target is unchanged at this time for IEGH. IEGH is a high-risk, high potential reward company in the consumer finance sector.
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About IEGH Holdings Corporation
IEG Holdings Corporation provides online $5,000 and $10,000 unsecured consumer loans under the brand name, "Mr. Amazing Loans," via its website, www.mramazingloans.com. For more information about IEG Holdings, visit www.investmentevolution.com.
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