LMMMAlower middle market M&A

AZ · 951 financed acquisitions

$1.1bnCapital deployed

Business acquisitions in Arizona

951 businesses in Arizona changed hands with SBA 7(a) acquisition financing since FY2019, carrying $1.1bn of bank debt between them. The median deal was financed with $821,900 over 10 years at 8.00%.

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Volume and price

What businesses in Arizona financed by an SBA 7(a) acquisition loan actually cost, and how many of them there were.

Financed acquisitions951Disbursed loans, FY2019 to date
Capital deployed$1.1bnGross approval, all years
Median loan$821,900Half above, half below
Interquartile range$393k - $1.6MMiddle half of deals
Median rate8.00%951 loans with a recorded rate
Median term10 years951 loans with a recorded term

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level extract, change-of-ownership approvals, FY2019 onward. Data as of 30 June 2026. n = 951 financed acquisitions.

Loan size distribution
Size bandAcquisitionsShare
Under $250k11512.1%
$250k to $500k20121.1%
$500k to $1M23324.5%
$1M to $2M21923.0%
$2M to $3.5M13213.9%
$3.5M to $5M373.9%
$5M and above141.5%
All951100.0%

The 7(a) programme caps a single loan at $5M, so the top band is a ceiling of the instrument, not of the market. Deals above it are financed conventionally and do not appear in this file at all.

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How the paper was structured

Loan terms here are not spread smoothly. They spike at exactly ten years and again at exactly twenty-five, with very little in between. Those two points are the programme's maturity ceilings, and which one applies depends on what secures the loan, so a term running past ten years indicates real property was financed alongside the business.

Term structure
TermWhat it indicatesAcquisitionsShare
Under 10 yearsShorter than the goodwill maximum606.3%
Exactly 10 yearsThe standard goodwill-only note66069.4%
10 to 20 yearsMixed collateral535.6%
20 years and overReal property financed with the business17818.7%

69.4% of loans here run exactly ten years and 18.7% run twenty years or more. n = 951 loans with a recorded term.

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What happened next

Two outcomes are visible in the file: approvals that never funded, and funded loans that later charged off. Both are facts about deals, not forecasts.

Approvals cancelled8.2%85 of 1,036 approvals never disbursed
Charged off, FY2019-FY2021 cohort2.77%10 of 361 funded loans
Jobs recorded14,222Jobs supported, as reported by the lender at approval
Franchised15.5%Share of acquisitions carrying a franchise name

The charge-off share is cumulative as of 30 June 2026 for loans approved in FY2019-FY2021. Those loans are five to seven years into terms that are usually ten years, so the figure is a floor and the lifetime rate will be higher. It is not comparable to a rate computed over a fully matured cohort, and the site does not publish one for later years for that reason.

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By fiscal year

FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26*

* FY2026 is incomplete. The extract closes 30 June 2026, nine months into a fiscal year that ends 30 September, and some FY2026 approvals have not yet disbursed. Do not read the last column as a decline.

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Sectors in Arizona

Sectors with enough local volume to report on their own. Each has its own page combining this state with that sector.

Arizona acquisitions by sector
SectorAcquisitionsCapitalMedian loanMedian rateMedian termCancelled
44-45 Retail Trade126$143M$712,1007.75%10 years11.9%
81 Other Services (except Public Administration)123$111M$739,0008.25%10 years6.1%
72 Accommodation and Food Services114$148M$813,4008.00%10 years9.5%
62 Health Care and Social Assistance105$111M$780,0007.25%10 years7.1%
23 Construction98$135M$910,5008.25%10 years7.5%
56 Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services79$89.9M$785,0009.00%10 years8.1%
54 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services77$88.8M$702,0008.22%10 years6.1%
31-33 Manufacturing70$96.4M$921,4007.75%10 years6.7%
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing32$38.3M$1,266,2508.62%10 years11.1%
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Counties in Arizona

Counties with at least 30 financed acquisitions.

Arizona acquisitions by county
CountyAcquisitionsCapitalMedian loanMedian rateMedian termCancelled
Maricopa666$810M$839,0008.00%10 years8.4%
Pima96$89.5M$624,7508.00%10 years5.0%
Yavapai69$77.7M$830,0008.00%10 years9.2%
Coconino37$51.5M$661,0008.09%10 years2.6%
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Who lends here

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Elsewhere

If you are selling

Thinking about selling

The figures above describe businesses in Arizona at the size the 7(a) programme reaches. They describe a market, not your business. FIH advises owners of privately held companies on sale processes, and the first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

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Figures on this page are SBA loan amounts, not sale prices. Nothing on this site is an offer, a solicitation, a valuation of any business, or investment advice, and no statement here promises a transaction, a price or a result.