Financing Strategy

A distributor doing $40 million in revenue needs $6 million. Read against cash flow it is short. Read against its assets it clears. Read as a blend it borrows $8.2 million. Same company, same week, three answers.

A 2026 Series A takes 18 to 22% of the company at a reset valuation. For a recurring-revenue business that already clears the revenue bar, that dilution is a choice, not a requirement.

Regional lenders posted a sixth straight quarter of margin expansion. Borrower pricing does not move with it. What an untested 25 basis point renewal gap actually costs, and the 120 day sequence that changes it.

Contractor backlog hit a near three-year high while input prices ran 9.6% above a year earlier. Why a full order book is a financing liability before it is an asset, and how to structure against it.

Capex demand is rising into a working capital squeeze. Why paying cash for equipment is the expensive move, and how layering the structure preserves the liquidity growth consumes.

Private credit redemptions jumped 217% in a quarter. For acquirers leaning on one lender, the risk is no longer deal supply, it is certainty of close. Here is the defense.

The cheapest quoted rate is rarely the lowest cost of capital. With Q1 2026 spreads ranging 25 to 200 bp, structure, not headline spread, decides what a facility actually costs.

Bank standards tightened. Private credit expanded. The capital stack for buying a business changed. Most buyers haven't caught up. Here's what shifted and what it means for your next deal.