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Tamara secures financing from Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Citi, Apollo

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Deal will refinance and increase previous $500 million

facility

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Aims to expand beyond 20 million customers with new

funding

DUBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian start-up Tamara

has secured an up to $2.4 billion financing package from backers

including Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Citi, and Apollo funds

that will help the fintech company expand its credit and payment

products, it said on Monday.

The Shariah-compliant package will refinance and increase a

previous $500 million facility, Tamara said in a statement. The

deal includes an initial $1.4 billion, with a further $1 billion

available for a three-year period pending further approvals.

"The asset-backed facility will increase Tamara's lending

power and help the platform grow well beyond its current 20

million customers," the company said.

Tamara is among the Gulf Arab region's largest providers of

buy-now-pay-later payment systems, which allow consumers to

split payments for big-ticket purchases. Some charge consumers

late fees.

Its rivals in the sector, which gained popularity during the

COVID-19 pandemic, include fintech Tabby.

The startup reached a valuation of $1 billion in late 2023

after a $340 million Series C funding round in which investors

including SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments, owned

by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, took part.