What equity injection does SBA require for an acquisition?

This site does not state an equity-injection percentage. SBA Information Notice 5000-880695 puts change-of-ownership updates in Appendix 15 of SOP 50 10 8.1, effective 1 October 2026 for loan numbers issued on or after that date. Earlier applications stay on SOP 50 10 8. Ask the lender which appendix applies and what counts as equity.

People read about SBA acquisitions because the equity injection, the treatment of a seller note, the debt-service test, and the diligence requirement decide whether a structure works. Those topics moved, for loans the notice covers, into Appendix 15. The notice tells users to read the SOP to understand the changes. This site will not restate equity, coverage, or diligence figures from an appendix it is not quoting. A number repeated from a secondary article is how buyers build a sources-and-uses page the lender then rejects.

The questions worth taking to the lender, without pretending the answers are printed here: how the lender classifies the change of ownership; what equity injection the appendix requires, and which sources count; whether a seller note or a minority investor's cheque can count, and for how much of the injection; what debt-service coverage the appendix requires; and whether a quality-of-earnings report is required at the purchase price. Bring the purchase agreement, a sources-and-uses page, and three years of statements to that conversation.

Information Notice 5000-880695, which the SBA posted with the issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1, is the document this site relies on for the effective date. The SOP document page lists version 8.1 as effective 1 October 2026. Confirm with the lender which version governs your application before you rely on a structure. Rules change. A seller note that worked on a story you heard in 2024 is not evidence.

The percentage is the lender's reading of the appendix, so arrive with the facts the appendix has to be applied to. A draft or signed purchase agreement, a sources-and-uses page that separates cash equity, any seller note, and the loan, and three years of statements. Then ask the lender to point at the section: which SOP version applies to this application, how they classify the change of ownership, which sources count as equity, and whether a seller note or a minority investor's check counts. This site will not fill those blanks. Information Notice 5000-880695 and the SOP document page are the citations. A secondary article that quotes a percentage is not.

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 cannot approve an equity structure. A lender decides whether the deal fits the SOP. An advisor can run the competition among lenders who will show their work.