Looking for favourable banks in Canada to assist with M&A

searcher profile

May 28, 2024

by a searcher in Toronto, ON, Canada

Looking to start my journey of aquiring businesses with seller financing and have the banks (lender) fund the remaining cost. Are there specific banks that would be more inclined to this structure than others?

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commentor profile
Reply by an intermediary
from University of Toronto in Toronto, ON, Canada
Hi Marco, to piggyback on a few of the comments here, I can tell you that most of the banks are well familiar with the searcher community and also love to do acquisition deals. Potentially any of them are good candidates. And because it's Canada, the good news is it's easy to see who they all are or can find with an easy search.

From there, it starts to get a little more involved because there is no one size fits all approach. Every business, industry, purchase structure, and transition and growth plan is different. There are definitely some rules of thumb to structure around going in but in the final analysis, pinning down the structure means qualitatively and quantitively sizing up and presenting all of the details and factors. And yes, some lenders definitely have their sweet spots, but this can also be enhanced or derailed by the deal team, and the current environment you get.

Ultimately, you are best served putting together a strong business case and financing case yourself that you will present to the lenders, to avoid the pitfalls. Because it's not so much about who you know, it's about the strength of your financing CASE. Think of it like you are a flying a plane; to land successfully, it's not that you need more runways, what you need is the right approach.

Feel free to dm or email me redacted if you would like more materials on this topic. Happy to chat.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Concordia University in Montreal, QC, Canada
In my experience the big 6 CAN banks will service you, however this is a local relationship game, and its best to connect with your local team.

In my experience the best place to start is to leverage your network to meet the commercial banking team at each bank, and from there they can help you navigate to the right deal team by industry/ practice area.

Some things to consider.
- Size of deal. IMO Canadian banks (commercial banking) sweet spot is $3M to $15M
- Unless you have pre-existing experience/ track record with your bankers they will likely want to see > 20% equity in the deal
- They may also want you to get your loan guaranteed by EDC which can add 2% to your interest costs
- BDC is the most flexible, they can senior debt to equity and everything in-between. But they are expensive and require a PG.

DM me for Toronto contacts at most banks, and any more questions. Hope this helps.
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