Clearly Acquired Blog

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
August 25, 2025

Tax Due Diligence for M&A Success: Expert Insights

Tax due diligence is critical for successful M&A transactions, especially for SMBs, as it uncovers hidden liabilities, compliance gaps, and potential tax risks that could derail a deal. By reviewing federal, state, and local filings, related-party transactions, and potential exposures, buyers can avoid inheriting costly surprises, while sellers protect their deal value. Engaging tax advisors early, leveraging technology, and structuring risk management provisions like indemnifications and escrows ensure smoother negotiations and post-acquisition operations.

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Growth
August 24, 2025

Mezzanine Financing Trends in Main Street M&A

Mezzanine financing is becoming increasingly popular in Main Street M&A, bridging the gap between traditional debt and equity to help buyers fund acquisitions without giving up significant ownership. With rising interest rates and tighter bank lending, alternative lenders are stepping in to offer flexible structures, often combining subordinated debt with equity kickers. This makes mezzanine financing especially attractive for businesses with stable cash flows and growth potential, enabling buyers to stay competitive in a tighter lending environment.

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Growth
August 23, 2025

10 KPIs to Track Working Capital Efficiency - Part 2

Part 2 of the “10 KPIs to Track Working Capital Efficiency” series focuses on the final four metrics that complete the picture of cash flow and liquidity management: Days Payable Outstanding (DPO), Inventory-to-Working Capital Ratio, Working Capital Turnover, and Net Cash Position. These KPIs help businesses optimize supplier payment strategies, manage inventory allocation, maximize sales efficiency, and evaluate overall liquidity. Together with Part 1, they provide a full framework for improving working capital performance and driving sustainable growth.

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Growth
August 23, 2025

10 KPIs to Track Working Capital Efficiency - Part 1

Part 1 of the “10 KPIs to Track Working Capital Efficiency” series covers six key metrics that help businesses manage liquidity, optimize cash flow, and improve operational performance. It explains how to measure and benchmark the Working Capital Ratio, Current Ratio, Quick Ratio, Cash Conversion Cycle, Days Sales Outstanding, and Days Inventory Outstanding to identify bottlenecks and enhance efficiency. These KPIs provide a foundation for assessing financial health and preparing for sustainable growth, with Part 2 focusing on the remaining four KPIs.

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Growth
August 23, 2025

Ownership Transfer Compliance: Key Legal Rules

Transferring business ownership requires strict compliance with corporate, tax, and industry-specific regulations to avoid fines, delays, or invalid transactions. Business owners must maintain accurate records, verify new owners through AML/KYC procedures, address data privacy laws like CCPA and GDPR, and manage licensing or regulatory approvals for specific industries. Proactive planning, regular compliance reviews, and legal guidance ensure a smooth, legally sound transfer.

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Growth
August 22, 2025

SBA Loan Timeline: Step-by-Step Process

The SBA loan process typically takes 60–90 days, but being well-prepared can shorten the timeline significantly. It moves through five stages: pre-qualification (7–10 days), application (10–14 days), underwriting (14–21 days), approval & SBA review (7–14 days), and closing & disbursement (7–10 days). Staying organized, providing complete documentation, and responding quickly to lender requests can save weeks and speed up funding.

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Growth
August 22, 2025

Debt-to-Equity Trends in Main Street M&A

Rising interest rates, inflation, and tighter credit markets are reshaping debt-to-equity trends in Main Street M&A. Buyers are leaning on equity-heavy structures and creative financing tools like SBA loans, seller notes, and earnouts to manage risk and reduce borrowing costs. In today’s market, balancing debt and equity strategically is critical to closing deals while maintaining healthy cash flow.

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Growth
August 21, 2025

Private Credit vs Bank Loans for SMBs

Private credit offers faster approvals and greater flexibility than traditional bank loans, making it ideal for SMBs needing quick funding or customized terms. However, it typically comes with higher interest rates and fees. Bank loans, on the other hand, provide lower costs and longer repayment options but require stronger financials and take more time to secure.

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Growth
August 21, 2025

AI in M&A: How It Identifies Hidden Opportunities

AI is transforming M&A by helping buyers uncover hidden opportunities, especially off-market deals that aren’t publicly listed. Using machine learning, NLP, and predictive analytics, AI analyzes vast datasets to identify potential sellers earlier, spot strategic synergies, and streamline outreach and due diligence. Platforms like Clearly Acquired and Grata give dealmakers a competitive edge by combining data-driven insights with automation, enabling faster, smarter, and more targeted deal sourcing.

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Growth
August 20, 2025

NDA Enforcement in Small Business Deals

NDA enforcement in small business deals is often challenging due to high legal costs, inconsistent state court rulings, and limited access to monitoring tools. Many small businesses avoid pursuing violations because litigation is expensive and proving damages can be complex, making breaches harder to address. Using automated NDA tools, secure data rooms, and phased information sharing can help small businesses strengthen confidentiality protections and reduce risks without incurring heavy legal expenses.

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Growth
August 19, 2025

5 Tips for Assigning Contracts After Business Acquisition

Assigning contracts after a business acquisition is critical for maintaining customer and vendor relationships without disruption. Buyers must carefully review terms for restrictions like anti-assignment or change-of-control clauses, secure necessary consents, and draft formal assignment agreements. A structured process with legal support and clear communication helps avoid lost revenue, disputes, or operational setbacks.

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Growth
August 19, 2025

Insurance Due Diligence in M&A Deals

Insurance due diligence in M&A deals helps buyers avoid inheriting hidden liabilities or costly coverage gaps. By reviewing policies, claims history, and exclusions, buyers can assess whether insurance adequately matches the company’s risks and negotiate fixes before closing. This process protects deal value, ensures continuity of coverage, and provides a smoother post-transaction integration.

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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