Buyers have used an SBA loan to purchase an existing business 50,580 times since FY2010, as of the data’s March 2026 refresh: 49,211 of those loans through the 7(a) program, 1,369 through 504. That is about 4.9% of every SBA loan in our database, funded at an average of $1.08 million and a combined $54.5 billion in approved financing. On the 7(a) loans in that group, the charge-off rate is 1.38%, less than half the 3.97% average across all 7(a) loans in our data, and lower even than the 1.69% rate on loans of similar size ($1 million to $5 million) generally. Buying a business that already has cash flow, tax returns, and a track record is, in our data, one of the better-performing uses of an SBA loan. See the full breakdown, lender by lender, year by year, on our buying-a-business data page and the underlying figures on datasets.
Live Oak Banking Company funded more of these acquisitions than any other lender, 4,661 loans totaling $6.72 billion, an average deal size of $1.44 million. The Huntington National Bank is second by volume, 3,050 loans, but at a smaller average, $804,141. Further down the list, GBank funded only 600 acquisition loans but at an average of $2.64 million each, more than double the category average, a sign of a book weighted toward larger platform acquisitions rather than small owner-operator buys. Byline Bank, Celtic Bank, and Metro City Bank round out the most active lenders by approved dollars in this use of funds.
What the lender is actually underwriting
On an acquisition, the lender underwrites the target business, not just you. That changes what gets asked for:
- The target’s historical cash flow. Tax returns and financials from the business you are buying carry more weight than your resume.
- Debt service coverage. SBA’s current SOP sets a minimum projected debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 1.15, cash flow available for debt divided by total loan payments, though most lenders underwrite acquisitions to 1.25 or higher in practice.
- An independent business valuation. A change-of-ownership loan generally requires one; the price has to be supportable, not just agreed to.
- Your relevant experience, or a credible plan for filling the gap, such as retaining key staff or the seller staying on for a transition period.
The 10% equity injection, and how a seller note fits
Under the current SOP (50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025), a complete change of ownership requires a minimum equity injection of 10% of total project costs, defined as all costs required to complete the purchase, regardless of source. That is a tightening from prior editions: any seller note counted toward the injection must now sit on full standby for the entire life of the SBA loan, no principal or interest payments, typically up to 10 years, and it cannot exceed 50% of the required injection.
In practice, that means a buyer generally needs to bring real cash, or another qualifying source, equal to at least half the injection, roughly 5% of total project costs, even in a deal with generous seller financing. Acceptable sources beyond cash include verified personal loans with an outside repayment source, and, increasingly common in acquisition deals, a properly executed ROBS retirement-fund rollover; see SBA loan vs. ROBS for how that works and what it risks. For the fuller picture on down payment sourcing across every SBA use of funds, see SBA loan down payment and equity requirements.
Franchise acquisitions
If the business you are buying is a franchise unit, the underlying mechanics are the same, plus one extra step: the brand generally needs to be current on the SBA’s Franchise Directory. See SBA loan for a franchise for what lenders look for on the brand side.
If this is your first time owning a business
Lenders weigh acquisitions more forgivingly for first-time owners than a ground-up startup, because the target’s own cash flow, not your track record, is what services the debt. That is not a guarantee. See SBA loans for first-time business owners for the compensating factors that matter most when you have never run a business before.
Getting to a lender
Not every SBA lender is active in acquisitions, and fit matters: a lender that rarely finances your industry or deal size is a slower yes even on a strong application. Run your numbers with the SBA loan affordability calculator, see the most active lenders overall on best SBA lenders, and get a shortlist of lenders that actually fund deals like yours through get matched, built on the same track-record data as this page, not who pays for placement. If the business you are buying already carries an SBA loan, the seller-side mechanics, payoff at closing versus assumption, are in selling a business with an SBA loan.
Before you rely on this
Equity injection rules, DSCR minimums, and seller-note standby requirements follow the current SBA SOP and change over time; the terms above reflect SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025. Confirm current requirements, and how a specific lender applies them, before you sign a letter of intent.