We pulled every $2M+ SBA acquisition loan with no real estate from the last 12 months. The market is healthy: 808 loans and $2.7B approved, up 14% and 12% year over year, even with the October shutdown wiping out a month of approvals. The top 10 banks made 49% of these loans. Here’s who they are and how they’re trending: 1. Live Oak has long been the 800-lb gorilla, but they’ve pulled back meaningfully. They went from 150 loans to 102, and their share fell from 21% to 13%. 2. Huntington has surged into a near-tie for the top spot, going from 54 loans to 100. We’ve closed multiple deals with them and been impressed. 3. First Internet Bank is #3 and growing, up from 41 loans to 64. 4. Pathward and Byline Bank round out the top 5. One more data point: the 8 largest U.S. banks combined made 20 of these loans. Live Oak and Huntington each made about 100. Big name does not mean active SBA acquisition lender. Who you pick matters for more than rate Our experience is that using one of the banks that does a lot of SBA lending is great for confidence that the deal actually gets done. Sometimes smaller banks will give great rates and term sheets, then struggle to close because the credit committee isn’t used to seeing these types of deals. A cheap term sheet that dies in credit committee costs you more than the rate savings ever would. That’s why we’re big fans of working with someone like Matthias Smith (Pioneer Capital Advisory) to get multiple options and leverage long-standing lender relationships. Partner Perspective: Chat Joglekar, Baton: What Three Recent Acquisitions Reveal About Closing Delays When a business acquisition runs into trouble, the obvious places to look are the buyer, the seller, and the financials. Maybe the seller has second thoughts, the earnings don't hold up under scrutiny or the buyer can't secure financing. But sometimes, the delays happen outside that relationship entirely. We recently reviewed three acquisitions that closed this summer. None involved an SBA loan, yet all three ran into significant delays. In each case, the obstacle was a third party whose approval, cooperation, or timing mattered just as much as the buyer's and seller's agreement. The details are worth looking at because each deal points to a different part of the process that buyers and sellers can (and should) address early. 1.A pet boarding business ran into trouble with its landlord. The business was initially asking $700,000 and ultimately sold for $940,000 to a strategic buyer with more than 17 locations. The seller had done some important work before going to market. Both leases were set to expire at the end of 2026, so the seller secured nine-year extensions in advance. That preparation helped position the business for a sale. But it didn't resolve every issue with the property. After the letter of intent (LOI) was signed, the landlord refused to fund an estimated $125,000 to $150,000 in air conditioning and water upgrades. Communication stalled for weeks. The closing date slipped three times, and the seller ultimately gave back $60,000. The dispute shows how quickly a property issue can become a transaction issue. Even when a lease is secured for the long term, disagreements over repairs and capital improvements can introduce new costs and delay a closing. Clarifying those responsibilities during lease negotiations, rather than after an LOI is signed, can help reduce the uncertainty. 2.A therapy practice discovered the limits of its financing. A 13-year-old therapy practice went to market for $778,000. It attracted offers at or near the asking price, but those offers relied heavily on seller financing. Once lenders assessed the deals, the financing picture changed. They capped the loan amount at roughly $450,000, and the price eventually fell to $597,000. The practice ultimately sold for $525,000. Financing wasn't the only issue. The buyer switched lenders twice before securing approval, while working capital, accounts receivable, and escrow terms remained unresolved until the final purchase agreement. A seller's asking price reflects what they hope to receive. What a buyer can pay depends on several other factors, including available financing, cash on hand, and the structure of the deal. Those factors don't always line up. Understanding the lender's requirements early and addressing key financial terms at the LOI stage can help surface potential gaps before the parties invest more time in the transaction. 3.A franchise acquisition waited on a state registration. A first-time buyer was acquiring a lab-testing franchise for $200,000. Across three rounds of negotiations, she held firm on price while working through the terms, including the down payment, the seller-note interest rate, and a personal guarantee that would step down from 100% to 20%. The deal then stalled for seven weeks while the franchisor renewed its California franchise registration, a regulatory process that affected the timing of the transfer. This deal is a reminder that agreeing on the terms is only part of the process. Franchise transfers can depend on registration renewals, franchisor approvals, and other requirements that affect the closing timeline. Understanding those requirements early gives both sides a clearer picture of what needs to happen before the deal can close. A successful acquisition takes more than finding the right business and agreeing on a price. It takes understanding what else needs to fall into place before the deal can close. Baton gives buyers access to active listings through a single NDA, making it easier to explore opportunities and begin evaluating a potential acquisition. Browse the latest listings on Baton. After the Acquisition: Vin Gandolfo, President of Industrials Practice at WithCoverage: The Loss Run That Changed the Deal When a seller sends a deal summary, it often says the business is fully insured with no material claims. For a buyer, that line can feel reassuring. It may be accurate - but the most important claim can still be missing from the summary. On last week’s webinar with Entrepreneurial Capital (recording here), we walked through a case like this. A 68-person manufacturer was five weeks from closing. Its loss runs were missing a full year between two carriers. Several open claims still had reserves on them. One back injury had been reopened, showed $0, and now involved an attorney. The seller hadn’t noticed any of it. Here’s why that matters. Insurers use a number called the experience mod to adjust workers’ comp premiums. It’s based on past claims - so a claim you thought was finished can keep raising your premium for years after you take over. Before a deal closes, we go straight to the carrier for loss runs - not the seller’s agency. We read every reopened claim, including the ones showing $0, because that’s where surprises hide. Then we check payroll and class codes against what was reported, and test each policy’s exclusions against the work the company actually does. The result is clearer deal terms, a holdback for premium audits, and fewer surprises after you take over. We can help you catch this before it’s too late. If you’re in diligence now, talk to us before you sign. Plus: • If you’re in Chicago for the Booth/Kellogg ETA Conference, come join us for a happy hour on Wednesday, October 29th from 4:30 to 7:00 PM at Jefferson Tap and Grille. Hosted by Entrepreneurial Capital, Pioneer Capital Advisory, Rejigg, QoE Prep, Albrecht Law, and CultureWise - drinks and appetizers included. RSVP here. • Tom Sietsema makes an underrated point: plenty of searcher blowups involve businesses with enough EBITDA to cover the debt on paper - the problem is working capital, not earnings. If you grow sales 10%, how much more cash goes into receivables and inventory, and what’s left after capex and debt service? Worth thinking through before you fall in love with the P&L. redacted