Figure Technology Solutions (Nasdaq: FIGR) has agreed to acquire Kiavi, an AI-powered lending platform serving residential real estate investors, in a transaction valued at $717 million, the companies announced Tuesday — a move that carries direct implications for food and beverage operators increasingly reliant on sale-leaseback structures and real-estate-backed financing to fund expansion.
The deal's structure is notable: a joint venture between Figure and Sixth Street, the global investment firm, will purchase loans off Kiavi's existing balance sheet, while Figure absorbs the platform itself. The total consideration of $717 million reflects both the balance-sheet acquisition and the platform purchase price, though the companies did not break out figures separately.
For the food and beverage sector, the transaction matters because a substantial share of Kiavi's borrower base comprises real estate investors who own and lease commercial properties — including restaurant pads, commissary kitchens, ghost-kitchen campuses, and food-production facilities. Tighter or looser credit conditions on that investor class flow directly into lease rates and capital availability for F&B operators. Figure's blockchain-native infrastructure, which tokenizes loan assets for faster settlement and secondary-market liquidity, could ultimately reduce the cost of capital in those lending chains. Analysts covering fintech-enabled real estate credit have noted that platforms capable of tokenizing and trading loan pools at scale tend to compress spreads over time, a dynamic that food franchise finance specialists have tracked closely as quick-service restaurant groups weigh sale-leaseback valuations heading into 2027.
Figure, which operates a blockchain-native marketplace for the origination, funding, sale, and trading of tokenized assets, said the acquisition of Kiavi accelerates its strategy of embedding AI-driven underwriting into its capital-markets stack. Kiavi's platform uses machine-learning models to evaluate borrower risk and property cash flows — capabilities Figure indicated it intends to extend across other asset classes on its marketplace. Sixth Street's participation as a capital partner on the balance-sheet purchase signals institutional appetite for yield from residential bridge and fix-and-flip loans even as broader credit markets remain cautious. The firm, which manages assets across credit, growth equity, and infrastructure, did not disclose the size of the loan portfolio it is acquiring alongside the transaction. Food-industry real estate investment trends covered by our capital markets desk suggest that institutional flows into property-backed lending are increasingly intersecting with F&B-anchored real estate.
Neither company provided forward earnings guidance or a projected close date beyond indicating the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.