Under NDA on Staffing Firm Acquisition — Seeking SBA Lender, M&A Attorney, and QoE Referrals

May 14, 2026

by a searcher from University of Virginia in Chicago, IL, USA

Under NDA on a specialty staffing firm in the Chicago metro area. 35+ years operating history, fully remote, $3M revenue, strong adjusted EBITDA, institutional clients on long-term MSAs, 90% recurring contract revenue. Seller is flexible on structure and motivated by legacy over price. Incumbent CEO stays on and runs daily operations. I retain my W-2 through transition. I really like it. Looking for: * SBA preferred lender experienced with staffing firm acquisitions at sub-$1M * M&A attorney in Chicago who does sub-$5M deals regularly and can quote flat fee — need LOI enhancement, employment agreement, MSA assignability review, and APA *CPA or QoE firm for a buy-side financial review appropriate to deal size * Anyone who has acquired a professional staffing firm and willing to share###-###-#### minutes SDVOSB and MBE eligible at close — significant upside through government contracting and supplier diversity that current owner cannot access. DM me or reach out at redacted

Reply by a lender
from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA

This is a great deal profile - long operating history, recurring contract revenue, motivated seller, and you're keeping the CEO and your W-2. All of those are things SBA lenders love to see. A few things to keep in mind on the SBA side for staffing: At sub-$1M, you're looking at a standard SBA 7(a) change of ownership loan. Typical structure would be 90% SBA / 5% full standby seller note / 5% buyer equity injection. Given the seller is flexible on structure, a full standby seller note (no P&I for the life of the SBA loan) would cut your equity injection in half. Staffing is a well-understood industry for SBA lenders, but some are better than others. The key is finding one that understands the MSA assignability issue - you need a lender who has closed staffing deals before and knows how to underwrite recurring contract revenue with institutional clients. The SDVOSB and MBE angle is a nice upside story for the credit memo - lenders like seeing growth potential beyond the historical financials. On the QoE side, make sure your provider has healthcare/staffing experience since the revenue recognition and contractor vs. employee classification can be nuanced in this space. As a broker at America's largest SBA loan broker, we work with 50+ SBA lenders and have placed staffing firm acquisitions before. We can match you with lenders who have closed deals in this exact space and size range. We are a 100% free service to the borrower, since we get paid by the lender post-close. We recently funded a similarly sized staffing company at p+0.5% and would love to do the same for you. Please use this meeting link to schedule a meeting with my team: https://cal.com/team/sba/searchfunder

Reply by a professional
from Instituto Universitario CEMA in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thanks for the mention @redacted‌ At Centurica, we specialize in buy-side QoE for SMBs, including financial and commercial due diligence. We have more than 10 years of experience, +350 projects delivered in the last 3 years led by a team with a strong Big 4 background. We rebuild and normalize financials to give buyers a clear view of true EBITDA and cash flow sustainability. Given our strong expertise in the space, we are able to tailor our scopes based on the deal and industry. We also include commercial, tech and supply chain scopes. Feel free to reach out to us at redacted and redacted https://centurica.com/

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