Does the SBA lend the purchase price?

No. The SBA does not lend the purchase price on a 7(a) loan. A lender makes the loan, and the SBA may guarantee part of it. The 7(a) page states a $5 million maximum and says you apply with the lender. On a 504, a certified development company works with a senior lender. Siddwell does not lend the price either.

Buyers sometimes talk as if 'the SBA' approved their deal. The credit decision is the lender's. The guaranty is what makes some lenders willing to go further on a change of ownership, including goodwill, than they would with a conventional loan. If the lender will not do it, there is no 7(a) loan, regardless of how well the story fits a blog post. Lender Match exists so an applicant can meet participating lenders and apply with them.

The 504 program is also not a check from the SBA to the buyer. The SBA describes it as long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, originated by a certified development company with a senior lender. Working capital is not an eligible 504 use. A purchase that is mostly goodwill is a 7(a) conversation if it is an SBA conversation at all, and only when a lender agrees.

Information Notice 5000-880695 says SOP 50 10 8.1 is effective 1 October 2026 for applications issued a loan number on or after that date, and that change-of-ownership updates are in Appendix 15. It does not, in the way this site uses the notice, hand the purchase price to the buyer. A July 2026 announcement describes combining 7(a) and 504 up to $10 million in defined cases. Read both documents. Neither one makes the SBA the lender.

On 7(a), the SBA's own page describes a program in which a lender makes the loan and the SBA provides a guaranty so the lender can finance the business. You work with the lender, not with the SBA. The stated maximum is $5 million. On 504, a certified development company originates the loan with a senior lender, for major fixed assets, and working capital is not an eligible use. A purchase that is mostly goodwill is a 7(a) conversation if it is an SBA conversation at all. The July 2026 announcement about combining the programs, and Information Notice 5000-880695 on SOP 50 10 8.1, do not transfer the credit decision to the agency. Siddwell does not sit in that chain as a lender either.

Siddwell is an AI-native investment bank for privately held US companies with $1M to $100M in revenue, doing sell-side M&A and capital advisory.

Siddwell advises the company and can put lenders, including SBA lenders, in competition. The signature on the loan is the lender's. Siddwell is not a lender and not a loan broker.