First Quarter, 2025

ACQUISITION FINANCING

The case studies, deals, sectors and issues driving middle market acquisition financing for 2025.

Top Story

Acquisition Financing in the Middle Market: The Shift to Alternative and Specialty Debt Solutions

Acquisition Financing in the Middle Market: The Shift to Alternative and Specialty Debt Solutions

Introduction: A New Playbook for Private Equity and Specialty Finance The middle market’s acquisition financing game has flipped over the past 15 years. Private equity (PE), armed with institutional capital hunting yield, and specialty finance, with its knack for creative solutions, have rewritten the rules. Gone are the days when bank-led cash flow lending ran the show. Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), sponsors...

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Featured Articles

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Sector Spotlights

Sector Spotlights

TMA Leading Edge Series with Adam Duso: Out-of-Court: A Path to Value Preservation

TMA Leading Edge Series with Adam Duso: Out-of-Court: A Path to Value Preservation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsgPwUc2Wr8 TMA’s global community — spanning advisors, attorneys, lenders, and operators — plays a critical role in helping businesses navigate complexity, adapt to change, and recover stronger. Behind every successful turnaround is a network of experienced professionals collaborating to solve...

SSG Advises Blue Spark Technologies in the Sale of Substantially All Assets to BST Technology Acquisition

It’s about Collections – Not Billings

Healthcare providers occupy a strange financial position. They are rich in receivables yet chronically short on cash. A hospital, skilled nursing operator or physician group can deliver millions of dollars in billable care each month and still struggle with cash...

Great Rock Capital

Promises…Promises…The Financiers of The Gilded Age

Monsieur Oscar Tschirky, the elegant, Swiss-born maître d'hôtel of Delmonico's always maintained that John “Bet a Million” Gates did not like his nickname but did little to repudiate the claims that he would bet on practically anything. When Gates won...

ABL vs. Cash Flow Lending: The Convergence of Structures in Middle Market Deals

MCA Payment Relief: Not Always What It Appears

The merchant cash advance relief marketplace has become increasingly crowded with firms promising lower payments, negotiated settlements and immediate cash flow relief. Most business owners entering the MCA resolution market encounter a familiar promise: "Reduce your MCA payments by 70%."...

TMA Leading Edge with Jenny Faubion: AI and Out of Court Options

TMA Leading Edge with Jenny Faubion: AI and Out of Court Options

TMA’s global community—spanning advisors, attorneys, lenders, and operators—plays a critical role in helping businesses navigate complexity, adapt to change, and recover stronger. Behind every successful turnaround is a network of experienced professionals collaborating to solve high-stakes challenges and preserve value....

Featured Case Study

The Aaron’s Company, founded in 1955, leads the lease-to-own industry with over 1,200 stores and a strong e-commerce platform across the U.S. and Canada. In 2022, it acquired BrandsMart U.S.A., enhancing its market reach. In 2025, facing a complex take-private acquisition, Aaron’s partnered with Second Avenue Capital Partners (SACP). SACP provided a tailored lending solution, ensuring liquidity, stability, and growth potential, seamlessly guiding Aaron’s into private ownership with expertise and precision.

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