Close · Marketing Agencies

Marketing Agencies SBA Financing: An Independent Sponsor's Counsel

When the deal is marketing agencies and the question is SBA Financing, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.

EV range $5M to $80M EV EBITDA $1.5M to $14M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

Every marketing agencies acquisition has its own gravity. SBA Financing is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

The typical marketing agencies platform sits at $5M to $80M EV with EBITDA in the $1.5M to $14M range. The thesis runs on specialty agency or holdco platform with bolt-ons. If the founder leaves, half the agencies in the market lose 25% of revenue. Structure for that.

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 marketing agencies, layer in client roster scrubbed for top-five concentration 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 Marketing Agencies, 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.