Main Street To Mid-Street Acquisition & Financing News

Expert insights, funding strategies, and practical guidance for securing capital, financing growth, and navigating business acquisitions. Whether you're raising capital for expansion, restructuring debt, or exploring your first acquisition, our blog provides the knowledge and resources to help you succeed.

Growth
October 17, 2025

Global M&A activity surges to decade-high values in Q3 2025

Global M&A activity surged to its highest level in a decade during Q3 2025, reaching $371 billion in completed deals—surpassing the total value of the first half of the year. North America led the resurgence, with deal values more than doubling year-over-year and contributing $246 billion. Analysts attribute the momentum to stabilized interest rates, strong equity markets, and renewed confidence among dealmakers despite ongoing geopolitical and regulatory challenges.

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Growth
October 17, 2025

Business Acquisition Checklist

A Business Acquisition Checklist serves as a step-by-step guide to help buyers evaluate potential acquisitions with precision and confidence. It ensures all key areas—financials, operations, legal, and cultural fit—are reviewed systematically to avoid surprises and uncover opportunities. By streamlining the due diligence process, it empowers entrepreneurs to make smarter, more informed decisions when purchasing a business.

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Growth
October 17, 2025

BlackRock completes $40B acquisition deal for Aligned Data Centers

BlackRock, joined by Microsoft, Nvidia, and other global investors, has finalized a landmark $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, marking the largest transaction ever in the global data center sector. The deal, part of the AI Infrastructure Partnership, aims to secure the backbone of AI development by expanding computing capacity across 80 global sites. With AI infrastructure spending projected to top $400 billion in 2025, this acquisition positions Aligned as a central player powering the next generation of artificial intelligence growth.

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Growth
October 16, 2025

SBA 7(a) Loan Application Checklist

An SBA 7(a) checklist turns a messy application into a clean, lender-ready package—covering personal docs (Form 1919, PFS), core business financials (tax returns, current P&Ls/BS, projections, debt schedule), and SBA-specific items like environmental reviews or acquisition paperwork (LOI, valuation, purchase agreement, seller financials). Use a labeled, searchable folder structure and a lender-tailored checklist to keep everything current, consistent, and securely submitted via a portal. Prefer SBA Preferred Lenders when you can—their streamlined process can shave weeks off approval.

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Growth
October 16, 2025

Fixing Rollover Equity Agreement Errors

Rollover equity agreements can be powerful tools for sellers to share in the future upside of a business after an acquisition — but when structured poorly, they often lead to problems like limited liquidity, restricted rights, and unexpected tax exposure. Fixing these errors means separating equity from employment terms, independently verifying valuations, and negotiating clear governance, liquidity, and tax provisions. With proper legal, tax, and valuation guidance, sellers can turn a risky rollover into a well-structured, wealth-building investment.

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Growth
October 16, 2025

Understanding a 721 Equity Rollover: How Sellers Defer Taxes and Stay Invested in Their Business

A 721 equity rollover allows a business seller to defer capital gains taxes by reinvesting part of their ownership into a buyer-controlled partnership or LLC. Instead of cashing out entirely, the seller “rolls over” equity into the new entity, aligning their interests with the buyer while participating in future upside. This structure provides liquidity, tax deferral, and continued ownership in the next phase of the company’s growth.

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Growth
October 15, 2025

Intralot Completes €2.7bn Acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive Business

Intralot has completed its €2.7 billion acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive, solidifying its position as a major global player in the online gaming market. The deal, accompanied by the listing of new shares on the Athens Stock Exchange, underscores Intralot’s push toward diversification and digital growth. With projected annual revenues exceeding €1.1 billion, the acquisition marks a key step in the company’s strategy to expand internationally and leverage technological synergies in the interactive gaming sector.

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Growth
October 15, 2025

Top 7 Use Cases for Bridge Loans in M&A

Bridge loans give buyers fast, flexible capital to keep deals moving—covering gaps before permanent financing, funding integration costs, earnouts, and even short-term refinancing or regulatory expenses. They’re ideal in time-sensitive or complex M&A where certainty of funds wins the bid, but come with higher rates, tighter timelines, and collateral requirements. Used with a clear take-out plan, they can be the difference between missing and closing an acquisition.

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Growth
October 15, 2025

Caterpillar Announces Acquisition of RPMGlobal in Strategic Move

Caterpillar’s acquisition of RPMGlobal marks a major step in its push toward digital transformation within the mining sector. The AU$1.1 billion deal gives Caterpillar access to RPMGlobal’s advanced mining software suite, strengthening its capabilities in automation, fleet management, and data analytics. This strategic move not only enhances Caterpillar’s digital offerings but also positions the company for long-term growth in technology-driven mining operations worldwide.

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Growth
October 15, 2025

Understanding the Tax Implications of Selling an S Corporation via Asset Sale

When selling an S corporation through an asset sale, the tax treatment can be more complex than most owners expect. This article breaks down how gains flow from the corporation to shareholders, explains key forms like Form 8594 and the §338(h)(10) election, and outlines smart planning moves to reduce tax drag on your exit. Ideal for founders preparing to sell or advisors structuring deals.

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Growth
October 14, 2025

Debt to Equity Ratio Converter

The Debt-to-Equity Ratio Converter helps business owners and investors quickly assess how much of a company’s operations are financed by debt versus owner equity. This ratio is a key indicator of financial leverage and risk—showing whether a business is overextended or maintaining a healthy balance between borrowing and ownership capital. By simplifying the calculation, the tool provides instant insight into financial stability and helps guide smarter funding and growth decisions.

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Growth
October 14, 2025

Why Historical Financial Trends Matter In SMB Acquisitions

When acquiring an SMB, analyzing historical financial trends is essential to understanding the company’s true health and sustainability. Multi-year patterns in revenue, profit margins, cash flow, and debt reveal whether performance is stable, improving, or deteriorating—helping buyers spot risks that single-year data can hide. Ignoring these trends can lead to overpaying for inflated earnings or missing red flags that threaten post-acquisition success.

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Acquire Quality. Fund Growth. Close with Confidence.

As an AI-driven Business Acquisition Marketplace and Financing Platform, we are on a mission to simplify and accelerate the MainStreet to MidStreet lending and acquisition ecosystem.

We specialize in technology that supports price discovery, identity verification and financial qualification, and buy-side tools to help searchers source and manage deal flow, make offers, secure lending/financing solutions, and close with confidence.

illustration of team with digital platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions by users that are looking to buy businesses on Clearly Acquired:

How can I show business owners I'm a legitimate buyer and that I'm interested?

With a Clearly Verified account, you can instill confidence in other users, brokers and sellers that you are, who you say you are, when you "verify" your identify.  This is the key to instilling confidence in the users on the platform,  gaining traction and getting instant access to financials, supporting data and insight to quickly move to making an offer or moving on.   This will save you months of wasted time and expedite the closing of a sale.

How are my finances verified?

Using financial technology the Clearly Acquired Platform safely and securely verifies your finances, to help sellers understand your closing capability and help lenders expedite your financing. Additionally, the buy-side deal room will help you get your documentation in order, to prepare you for the debt and equity financing you will need to close your acquisition.

Can I get in touch with advisors to help support me in this process?

The Clearly Acquired team is here to support you on your business acquisition or business sale journey. That said, the platform is designed to connect you with a community of users, who are identify verified, which include: investors, lenders, advisors, brokers, consultants, and other buyers who are looking for partners.  

What is a Deal Hub?

The Deal Hub is the central repository for all transaction-related activities on our business acquisition platform. It serves as a secure and organized space where buyers and sellers can access critical information and manage the entire acquisition process efficiently. The Deal Hub is divided into two main components: the Data Room and the Deal Rooms.

Data Room: The Data Room is a secure, virtual storage space where sellers can upload and share essential documents related to their business. This includes financial statements, legal contracts, operational reports, and other due diligence materials. Buyers can access these documents to conduct thorough evaluations and make informed decisions. The Data Room ensures that all sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized parties.

Deal Rooms: The Deal Rooms are dedicated spaces for each business listing where buyers and sellers can collaborate and negotiate terms. Each Deal Room is equipped with tools for real-time communication, document sharing, and tracking the progress of the deal. This streamlined environment facilitates transparent and efficient interactions, helping to expedite the acquisition process and ensuring that both parties are aligned at every stage.

The Deal Hub's comprehensive and secure infrastructure simplifies the complexities of business acquisitions, providing a seamless experience for all users involved.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology company that provides a secure and seamless way to connect and interact with financial institutions. It enables applications to access users' financial data with their consent, facilitating a wide range of services such as identity verification, account authentication, and transaction history retrieval. Plaid's robust API infrastructure ensures high security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory standards.

By integrating Plaid, Clearly Acquired can offer a secure, efficient, and reliable method for identity verification, building trust among users and ensuring the integrity of the acquisition process.

I am new to the idea of business acquisition, where can I get more information on how to get started?

Make sure to check out our Educational Course on Business Acquisition that is offered in our paid plans for buyers: From Purchase to Profit: Mastering the Art of Business Acquisition.

This Membership Course for buyers is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the business acquisition process successfully. Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced entrepreneur, our course equips you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions and achieve your acquisition goals. Join us and embark on your journey to buying a business with Clearly Acquired.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Create Your Account. Get Verified. Start Searching.

1

Create an account

Every day, lenders, investors, brokers, and sellers come to Clearly Acquired looking for qualified operators like you. Creating an account and getting verified helps you stand out and build trust.

2

Build your profile

Build your profile to get matched with capital and opportunities. Showcase your expertise and resume, to connect with the right capital and acquisition partners—making every opportunity count.

3

Search & Connect

Browse Verified listings, source off-market deals, & manage deal flow with powerful tools to underwrite opportunities, and connect with capital to streamline the entire acquisition and funding process

Join the Clearly Acquired Search Community

Create Your Profile & Get Verified for Free