Close · Energy Services

SBA Financing Counsel for Energy Services Acquisitions

Structuring SBA Financing on energy services deals, with the structure protection and capital connectivity an independent sponsor actually needs.

EV range $10M to $140M EV EBITDA $2.5M to $24M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

Energy Services deals in the lower middle market run a specific playbook. SBA Financing is where the structure either holds or starts to leak.

The typical energy services platform sits at $10M to $140M EV with EBITDA in the $2.5M to $24M range. The thesis runs on regional oilfield service or renewable services consolidation. Underwrite the trough, not the peak. Capital partners will.

The moves

How SBA Financing actually gets structured.

  1. Confirm eligibility against SBA size standards before signing the LOI.

  2. Structure personal guarantees with care; SBA lenders require them but they can be narrowed.

  3. Plan the seller note as on-standby debt, supporting the SBA loan covenant package.

  4. Time the SBA approval process into the closing schedule; allow 90 days from full application.

  5. In energy services, layer in earnout indexed to gross margin instead of revenue as part of the SBA Financing workstream.

The common mistake

Promising the seller an SBA-funded close in 60 days. SBA does not move at LOI speed.

Jason's take
"SBA debt is the cheapest money in the independent sponsor market. The trade is paperwork and time."
Jason Powell · SBA Financing
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

The capital that opens up post-close, from refinancing to growth equity to strategic exit, runs through a small set of Wall Street relationships. That network is built in.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

SBA Financing for Energy Services, on independent sponsor terms.

Independent sponsor counsel that already speaks fluent deal-by-deal economics, structures clean LPAs, and travels with capital markets relationships for what comes after close.