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SBA & ETA news

Updated daily. Headlines aggregated from financial press, agency announcements, and SMB trade publications, filtered for self-funded acquisition relevance.

  1. SBA tightens 7(a) underwriting guidance for change-of-ownership transactions

    New SBA procedural notice clarifies seller-note standby requirements and equity-injection sourcing for partial change-of-ownership 7(a) loans.

    American Banker

  2. ETA acquirers face higher debt-service coverage hurdles as Prime holds at 7.50%

    With the Bank Prime Rate steady through Q1, search-funded acquirers are revising LOIs to widen earn-outs and lengthen amortization to keep DSCR above 1.20x.

    Reuters

  3. Working-capital pegs become a flashpoint in lower-middle-market closings

    Sellers and buyers increasingly disagree on the trailing-twelve-month average vs. seasonal-adjusted methodology — costing deals weeks at signing.

    Axios Pro

  4. OCRP pilot to expand 7(a) preferred lender authority to two regional banks

    SBA's Office of Capital Access announced an extension of preferred-lender authority for two banks active in lower-middle-market acquisitions.

    SBA.gov

  5. QoE reports for sub-$5M deals: when is one worth it?

    A practitioner survey suggests the breakeven for a third-party QoE on sub-$5M EBITDA deals sits between 0.6x and 1.1x adjusted EBITDA — well above the typical fee.

    Lower Middle Market Letter

  6. First-time searcher wins competitive process with structured earn-out

    A profile of an MBA-grad searcher who beat private-equity bidders on a $4.2M EBITDA HVAC platform by accepting a multi-tier earn-out tied to retention.

    Searchfunder

Sources are third-party publishers. StarForge Advisors does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of linked articles. Headlines are filtered for relevance, not editorial agreement.