Boopos adds to its M&A small business loan pot with new investment – ​​TechCrunch

Six months after announcing $30 million in equity and debt, Boopos, a Miami-based lending platform for business acquisitions and growth, is back with an even bigger round, a $58 million Series A dollars, always in a mix of stocks and debts.

The latest round includes $8 million in equity and $50 million in debt, Boopos founder and CEO Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi told TechCrunch. Fasanara Capital, which led the first round, is participating again, this time with Bonsai Partners leading the round and additional participation from Noa Capital Partners. Actyus and K Fund are also part of the group of investors.

Garcia Braschi started the company in 2020 to meet the needs of business owners, primarily business aggregators, leveraging acquisitions as a way to grow their businesses. Most small business acquisitions often don’t qualify for bank financing, and assistance from Small Business Administration loans can be slow and require personal guarantees, he said.

“For a lot of people it’s just too much of a risk,” added Garcia Braschi. “They are willing to take the risk of buying a business and owning a business, but without risking their own assets. So many cases also, the buyer is not a US resident, which happens with online businesses, and the loan is based on tax returns.

Boopos qualifies buyers through an app and by accessing their LinkedIn profiles to ensure they have the right skills and background to succeed in business ownership.

The company is able to underwrite business online in less than 48 hours and offers facilities to finance up to 80% of an acquisition on a flexible revenue-based schedule. And, while the owners may not want to risk their own assets, the company is asking them to invest 20% in the deal to get some skin in the game. Boopos charges interest on the loans.

Additionally, Boopos works with trade brokers to pre-approve their market listings, which has, on average, closed a sale in less than 45 days. The company adds about 100 new Amazon, e-commerce, and SaaS business listings every month.

In February, the company had 200 qualified buyers on its waiting list, and today it is now over 500. It also has partnerships with a group of commercial brokers who transact $3 billion per year, including EmpireFlippers, FE International or Quiet Light.

After the company round, Adrián Yanes joined as chief technology officer and Sarita Bhatt as chief marketing officer to help Boopos transition to Series B and beyond, Garcia Braschi said. The company now has 25 employees and Garcia Braschi plans to double that number over the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, the debt investment will help ensure there are funds to lend, while the equity portion will go towards building and growing the Boopos team.

Next, the company will launch a mobile app, what Garcia Braschi called a “business owner’s dashboard,” to let users explore and decide which businesses to buy. Once they make a decision and move the businesses into their profiles, they have a portfolio view of how the businesses are doing in terms of revenue as it relates to valuation and how debt is shrinking and being paid off . Future features will be alerts to businesses that are for sale.

Although Garcia Braschi was not specific, he said the company’s valuation was about double after this round than the previous round. It has steadily increased its revenue by 30% to 50% month-over-month since late 2021.

“Our portfolio is performing well despite the weaker macro environment and recent layoffs and difficulties or even pivots experienced by our competitors,” he added. “We have adapted our credit policy and are more conservative, lending less and more selective. Our funding is still helpful as M&A multiples have also compressed, according to our database, by at least 20-30%.”