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
November 26, 2025

American Water Works will acquire Essential Utilities in an all-stock deal valued at $63 billion.

American Water Works is acquiring Essential Utilities in a $63 billion all-stock deal, creating one of the largest regulated water and wastewater utilities in the U.S. The combined company will serve about 4.7 million connections across 17 states, with Essential shareholders receiving 0.305 shares of American Water per share, a roughly 10% premium. The transaction is expected to be EPS-accretive in year one, support 7–9% dividend growth, and fund around $28 billion in infrastructure upgrades over five years, though it still faces integration and regulatory approval risks.

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Growth
November 26, 2025

Thoma Bravo's tech investments: One of the world's largest tech buyout firms, Thoma Bravo, continues to grow its software and technology portfolio

Thoma Bravo is one of the world’s dominant tech buyout shops, managing $184 billion AUM (as of March 2025) and having acquired or invested in more than 535 software companies, with a heavy focus on recurring-revenue, B2B platforms. By specializing in software, building deep sector relationships, and partnering closely with management on operational improvements, they’ve become a key force in shaping valuations and consolidation across cloud, cybersecurity, and AI-driven tools. For smaller acquirers, their playbook is clear: niche focus, recurring revenue, and operational excellence are what command premium multiples.

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Growth
November 26, 2025

Private equity rebounds: With stabilizing capital markets and record levels of "dry powder"

Private equity is roaring back in 2025 as capital markets stabilize and firms rush to deploy more than $1.2 trillion in dry powder. With financing costs easing and exit markets thawing, PE groups are aggressively pursuing larger, higher-value deals across sectors like tech, healthcare, and energy. For Main Street and lower-middle-market operators, this surge at the top signals what always happens next: increased competition, more roll-ups, and rising valuations trickling down into SMB acquisitions.

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Growth
November 24, 2025

Record-breaking quarter for deals: The third quarter of 2025 set a record for M&A activity

Q3 2025 marked a record-breaking quarter for M&A, driven by a sharp rise in mega-deals over $5 billion, particularly in tech, healthcare, and energy. Low interest rates, abundant capital, and strong corporate and private equity confidence fueled aggressive dealmaking, including creative structures like earnouts and hybrid financing. This surge at the top end is also reshaping the lower and mid-market, as corporates shed non-core assets and AI tools make sophisticated dealmaking more accessible to smaller buyers.

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Growth
November 24, 2025

How to Choose the Right Small Business Loan Broker for Your Industry

Choosing the right small business loan broker starts with finding someone who understands your industry, has a deep lender network, and can clearly explain which loan products fit your specific needs. A strong broker will act as your advocate—evaluating your financials, structuring your application, and shopping multiple lenders to secure the best terms without hidden fees or pressure into oversized or unsuitable loans. By asking direct questions about their experience, lender relationships, and compensation, you can quickly separate true professionals from brokers whose incentives aren’t aligned with your business.

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Growth
November 24, 2025

Thrive Capital and General Catalyst roll-up AI platforms

Thrive Capital and General Catalyst are adopting a private-equity-style roll-up strategy, acquiring and merging smaller AI companies to build larger, AI-native platforms. By consolidating niche technologies and modernizing fragmented industries like healthcare, logistics, and financial services, they’re accelerating scale, operational efficiency, and market dominance. This shift is pushing valuations higher and reshaping the M&A landscape for buyers, sellers, and investors.

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Growth
November 21, 2025

How Recurring Revenue Impacts Business Valuation

Recurring revenue dramatically boosts business valuation because it creates predictable cash flow, lowers risk for buyers, and supports stronger forward-looking earnings models. Companies with recurring income—like subscriptions or long-term contracts—often command 2–3x higher multiples than businesses relying on one-time sales. The stability, retention, and scalability baked into recurring revenue make these companies far more attractive during acquisition and due diligence.

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Growth
November 21, 2025

Business Deal Structure Analyzer

A Business Deal Structure Analyzer helps you compare cash, installment, and equity-based offers side-by-side so you can see the true cost and long-term implications of each option. Instead of guessing, you get a clear financial breakdown—total cost, annual commitments, and how each structure impacts liquidity, risk, and ownership. It’s a fast way to pressure-test scenarios and choose the structure that best aligns with your goals.

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Growth
November 20, 2025

Blackstone and TPG plan to take Hologic private for up to $18.3 billion

Blackstone and TPG’s plan to take Hologic private at up to $18.3 billion is a textbook PE bet on durable cash flow, recurring revenue, and demographic tailwinds in women’s health. The rich $76 cash + $3 CVR structure, funded with roughly two-thirds debt, signals high conviction in Hologic’s breast health diagnostics, global expansion runway, and AI-enabled data monetization—but also raises execution risk if growth or margins slip. For medtech and healthcare investors, it’s a strong signal that scaled, specialized platforms with recurring diagnostics revenue are still premium assets in a choppy market.

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Growth
November 20, 2025

Using Valuation to Negotiate a Better Deal When Buying or Selling a Business

Knowing what a business is truly worth turns negotiation from a tug-of-war into a math problem you can both solve. A clear valuation range lets buyers justify discounts for risk and investment needs, while giving sellers evidence to defend their price and trade dollars for terms through tools like earnouts, seller financing, and performance-based payments. When you anchor the conversation in data instead of emotion, it’s much easier to bridge gaps, structure creative deals, and walk away with a win-win.

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Growth
November 20, 2025

US leads the way: The US market remains a dominant force in global M&A, accounting for more than half of worldwide deal activity.

The US continues to dominate global M&A, driving more than half of worldwide deal volume and over a trillion dollars in annual transaction value. Behind the surge is an AI-fueled technology wave that’s transforming how deals are sourced, underwritten, and financed—compressing timelines and sharpening valuations. For both mega-buyers and Main Street operators, that means more visibility into opportunities, faster execution, and a deeper, more liquid market for acquisitions.

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Growth
November 20, 2025

The Top 5 Advantages of Using a Small Business Loan Broker

Small business loan brokers give entrepreneurs a faster, easier path to funding by handling the paperwork, structuring the deal, and packaging applications that lenders actually want to approve. Because they work with dozens—even hundreds—of banks, credit unions, SBA specialists, and private lenders, they can match your business to the right credit box and negotiate stronger terms than you’d get going direct. The result is quicker approvals, better pricing, and financing that’s actually tailored to your acquisition or growth strategy.

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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