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
December 30, 2025

Business Loan Interest Calculator

A business loan interest calculator helps you quickly estimate monthly payments and total interest, giving you clarity on the true cost of borrowing before you commit. By adjusting the loan amount, term, and interest rate, you can compare financing options and see how different structures impact cash flow. It’s a simple but powerful way to plan smarter, avoid surprises, and choose debt that aligns with your growth strategy.

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Growth
December 30, 2025

Throughput Metrics in M&A Due Diligence

Throughput metrics give buyers an operational truth test during M&A due diligence, revealing whether a business can actually scale beyond what the financials suggest. By analyzing cycle time, throughput rate, and work-in-process (WIP), acquirers can uncover hidden bottlenecks, capacity constraints, and inefficiencies that directly affect valuation, risk, and post-close execution. In short, strong revenue without healthy throughput is a warning sign, not a green light.

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Growth
December 29, 2025

Understanding Financial Normalization in M&A

Financial normalization in M&A is the process of “cleaning” a company’s financials so they reflect repeatable, buyer-ready earnings—removing one-time events, owner-specific perks, and non-market items like below-market rent or inflated compensation. Because most deals are priced on a multiple of EBITDA (or SDE on Main Street), even small, well-supported add-backs can materially move value—for example, $50,000 of normalized EBITDA at a 5.0× multiple adds ~$250,000 to enterprise value. Done correctly, normalization also reduces diligence friction by aligning what sellers claim with what buyers and lenders can verify.

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Growth
December 29, 2025

Main Street Buyers vs. Lower-Middle-Market Buyers

Main Street buyers are typically owner-operators seeking stable cash flow and income replacement, valuing businesses at 2.0–3.0× SDE and relying heavily on SBA loans and seller financing. Lower-Middle-Market buyers, by contrast, are institutional or professionally backed investors focused on scalability and returns, valuing companies at 3.0–8.0× EBITDA and using more complex capital structures. The right buyer — and valuation outcome — depends on whether the business is built for lifestyle stability or growth-driven scale.

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Growth
December 27, 2025

EBITDA Multiples for Construction Businesses

EBITDA multiples are a common way to value construction businesses, but they vary widely based on size, specialization, and revenue quality. Public construction companies often trade at 8x–15x+ EBITDA due to scale and liquidity, while most private firms fall in the 2x–5x range, with higher multiples reserved for larger or highly specialized operators like HVAC and electrical contractors. Businesses with recurring service revenue, strong management teams, and low owner dependence consistently command premium valuations.

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Growth
December 26, 2025

How SBA Loans Help Roofing Business Buyers

SBA loans are a strong fit for roofing business acquisitions because they typically require only ~10% down (sometimes less for qualified expansion scenarios), can finance working capital/equipment alongside goodwill, and offer long amortizations (often up to 10 years for business acquisitions and up to 25 years if real estate is involved) to keep payments manageable. They also allow seller notes to help meet the equity injection in some structures, which reduces the buyer’s cash-out-of-pocket while still satisfying lender/SBA requirements.

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Growth
December 26, 2025

Canada approves $53B Anglo American Teck Resources merger

Canada has approved the $53 billion merger between Anglo American and Teck Resources under the Investment Canada Act, clearing a major hurdle for one of the largest deals in global mining. The decision underscores Canada’s strategic push to secure critical minerals—especially copper—by pairing foreign capital with binding commitments on domestic investment, jobs, Indigenous partnerships, and long-term resource development tied to the energy transition.

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Growth
December 26, 2025

Clearwater Analytics to be taken private in $8.4B deal by Permira

Clearwater Analytics has agreed to be taken private in an $8.4 billion transaction led by private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, valuing the company at $24.55 per share—a 47% premium to its pre-deal trading price. The move signals a strategic reset after public-market underperformance, giving Clearwater greater flexibility to invest in AI-driven analytics, integrate recent acquisitions, and pursue long-term product and platform expansion away from quarterly earnings pressure.

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Growth
December 24, 2025

Deferred Payments in SBA-Backed Acquisitions

Deferred payments in SBA-backed acquisitions most often show up as seller notes that help bridge the gap between the SBA loan proceeds and the purchase price—sometimes allowing a buyer to bring as little as 5% cash down if the seller note is structured to satisfy SBA equity rules. The tradeoff is compliance and structure: the note must be subordinate to the SBA lender and, if used as part of equity, typically requires full standby for the life of the SBA loan—so buyers need to model the “payment shock” risk when deferred obligations eventually turn on.

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Growth
December 22, 2025

EBITDA Benchmarks for Recurring Revenue Models

EBITDA is a core profitability metric for recurring revenue businesses because it highlights how efficiently predictable subscription revenue converts into operating cash flow. In 2025, mature SaaS and subscription companies typically post 25–40% EBITDA margins and command premium valuations when paired with strong retention, low churn, and Rule of 40 compliance. As markets prioritize sustainability over pure growth, businesses that balance scalable revenue with disciplined EBITDA performance earn the highest multiples.

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Growth
December 21, 2025

5 Tax Reporting Steps for Seller Financing

Seller financing requires careful tax reporting because the IRS treats it as an installment sale, spreading taxes over time as payments are received. Each payment must be properly allocated between interest income (ordinary income), return of basis (non-taxable), and taxable gain, with sellers and buyers filing the correct forms annually. Staying organized with documentation and compliant throughout the note term helps avoid penalties and preserves the tax benefits of seller financing.

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Growth
December 20, 2025

Ultimate Guide to Payroll Fraud Detection

Payroll fraud impacts 27% of businesses and often goes undetected for 18–30 months, costing an average of $383,000 per case—with small and mid-sized companies most at risk due to weaker controls. Common schemes like ghost employees, inflated hours, and payroll tax fraud can distort financial performance, derail deals, and trigger legal exposure. Strong internal controls and AI-driven detection tools can surface anomalies in months—not years—protecting valuations, financing, and trust.

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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