An affiliate of Jefferies Group entered into an amended forward purchase agreement with small business lending platform OnDeck giving Jefferies the ability to purchase up to $500 million in small business loans through OnDeck Marketplace over the next 12 months.

Jefferies began its relationship with OnDeck Marketplace in March 2014. Jefferies’ interest in OnDeck Marketplace aligns with the overall growth of the platform as OnDeck continues gaining scale and diversifying its funding sources.

“Marketplace allows institutional investors to participate in the emerging small business loan asset class at scale,” said Howard Katzenberg, CFO of OnDeck. “The agreement not only demonstrates Jefferies’ interest in Marketplace, but it also gives them the ability to expand their portfolio and help even more small businesses get the capital they need to grow.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with our client, OnDeck, and its lending platform to structure and deliver innovative investment opportunities to our capital markets investor clients,” said Michael Wade, managing director of Jefferies.

OnDeck Marketplace has grown substantially since it first launched in late 2013, making up 34% of OnDeck’s term loan originations during the second quarter of 2015, up from 24% in Q1/15.