Every business and situation is unique. We work with closely held and family businesses to keep them from being overwhelmed with the array of financing options in the market. Most companies we arrange financing for want to acquire a business, buy out a partner, or finance a dividend. There are many choices among commercial banks, private lenders, and SBA credit providers. We assure clients that they are not missing out on potential options while they stay focused on running their business.

Capital Providers

Commercial Banks

Not all commercial banks provide conventional leveraged financing, but we have developed several trusted relationships with experienced lenders. There is a great deal of variability in the credit profile that banks like depending on geography, industry, and leverage.

SBA 7a

Over 3,000 bank and non-bank lenders in the US are administering multiple SBA programs. Although lenders administer many of the same programs, there is a material difference in each bank’s interest rates, loan amounts, and equity requirements.

Private Credit Funds

Private Credit Funds are investment vehicles that raise capital from institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, and high-net-worth individuals. Their goal is to provide debt financing to private companies. The loans offered by these funds can vary greatly and may include senior secured loans, mezzanine debt, subordinated debt, unitranche loans, or other customized financing options.

Small Business Investment Corporations

A Small Business Investment Corporation (SBIC) is a privately owned and managed investment firm licensed and regulated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBICs are specifically designed to provide funding and support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Asset Based Lenders

Asset Based Lenders are more focused on the quality and value of the company’s collateral. Ultimately, they will lend against the underlying appraised value of Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Machinery, and Equipment with less focus on the business’s profitability and leverage. There are bank and nonbank ABL providers whose fees, rates, and amount of capital have a high degree of variability.

Transaction Types

  • Acquisitions

  • Buyouts

  • Dividend Recapitalization

  • Debt Refinance

Our Approach

Discover

Spend time up front understanding what is most important to a client with their financing request. The discovery process is the most important part of the process, because I only am able to work with clients who I can help based on my skills and experience. If something is outside my capabilities, I recommend them to the best available resource.

Evaluate

Gather financial information to perform a complete quantitative and qualitative analysis. Depending on the scope of the engagement, that data is compared with current economic, industry and market data as appropriate.

Process

Develop a confidential, professional presentation to share with lenders who have proven experience with executing on similar requests. This creates a healthy competition to drive out the best possible options given the stated client goals.This process is not a blind email blast out to 50 lenders, but rather a targeted approach using my 20 plus years of experience and relationships with lenders in-market and across industry verticals.

Enhance

Review the draft proposals received by lenders with our client and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. We may clarify aspects of a proposal with a lender to see where there is flexibility with certain aspects of the structure. Understanding the details of each request is important to prevent unwelcome surprises.