Identified a potential business to acquire after screening over 500 businesses. E-2 structure advice needed.

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by a searcher from King's College London, University of London
in Riyadh Saudi Arabia

1h ago

Identified a potential business to acquire after screening over 500 businesses. E-2 structure advice needed.

I’d like to thank this community as it has been quite informative for my search. After screening over 500 businesses I am about to put down an offer for one. I have previously completed a small acquisition of struggling business and made it profitable. As it was my home country, I was quite familiar with the laws and the transaction went smoothly however for the US currently I am exploring the E-2 Visa route for the search fund in the US and am looking for attorneys who have experience in the E-2 route for the search fund and who can help with structuring the transaction. I am also looking for previous international searchers who have successfully completed their acquisition and used the E-2 route to brainstorm with.

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reply by a professional 1h ago
from Utah Valley University in Saratoga Springs, UT, USA

Congrats on getting to an offer after 500 screens. No E-2 experience here, so I'll leave attorney names to others, but two structure points will hit your purchase agreement no matter who you hire: Financing: Since the SBA rule change in 2025, 7(a) loans require the business to be 100% owned by US citizens or green card holders, so most E-2 buyers are working with cash plus a seller note. That changes what the seller will accept and how much you can lean on the note as a backstop. Confirm with a lender before the offer goes in, not after. Timing: The standard E-2 structure puts the purchase funds in escrow, released only on visa approval, so the deal can sit for months after signing. Write the diligence period and the visa contingency as separate items. Don't let the visa clock become the reason the document work gets rushed. I bought a mobile equipment maintenance business in Utah in 2024 and overpaid by about $150,000. Every red flag was in documents I already had before closing. That's what I do for buyers now, buyer-side workups on sub-$2M deals. Happy to compare notes on the pre-LOI side if useful.