Creative Financing Appraoches
September 02, 2025
by a searcher from Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Forgive me if this topic has been created in the past but would love to hear this group's experience with differing levers and sources for structuring acquisitions. I know it's all about de-risking for all parties - I'm sure there are some creative win-win approaches that are unique depending on the seller/buyer requirements. I've started a list below but would love to hear what others have come across or used in the past:
1. Personal Cash (from savings, retirement accounts, HELOC, etc.)
2. Friends & Family Cash
3. Business Cash (from investing activities, net earnings, etc.)
4. Debt Financing - SBA
5. Debt Financing - SBICs
6. Debt Financing - Conventional Loans / Credit Unions
7. Equity - Private
8. Equity - Public
9. Equity - Angel / Venture Capital
10. Seller Financing
11. Seller Equity (so don't have to finance the entire purchase - at least not up front)
12. Supplier Financing - particularly in instances where one is purchasing a business to drive inorganic growth
13. Inventory / Order Loans
14. Receivable Financing (typically through a factor for shorter term loans)
15. Lines of Credit
16. Earn outs - Not permissible by SBA
17. Performance Penalties - Permissible by SBA
18. Royalty Financing
19. ESOPs
20. Management / Key Employee Contribution
21. JVs & Partnerships
22. Real Estate Financing (use RE to finance the acquisition or part of)
23. Crowd Funding
24. Insurance Policy Loans
25. Leaseback Capital
26. Work in/Buy In (Become a GM and buy over time)
Also curious to hear what combinations have worked. For example, I assume most SBA loans will have at least 10% injected by the buyer to avoid having any seller financing loans go on standby.
For those who have leveraged seller financing, what % were you able to get the seller to finance?
Has anyone allowed the seller to retain a small portion of equity to stay engaged and participate in the success of the business?
from University of Southern California in North Palm Beach, FL, USA
from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, USA