Deale, the first independent digital M&A platform specializing in SMEs, is taking another step forward in its growth strategy with the launch of Deale Credit, the first fully integrated LBO financing solution embedded within a digital business sale and acquisition platform in Spain. The new initiative has been launched with an initial €2 million commitment from the company’s existing shareholders.
With this launch, Deale expands its value proposition for buyers and sellers in the Spanish mid-market by incorporating acquisition financing for transactions originated within its own ecosystem. The objective is to facilitate faster deal completion, broaden the platform’s service offering, and address a recurring challenge identified in transactions: the need for agile, flexible financing structures tailored to the execution timelines of this market segment.
Deale Credit focuses on financing transactions originated through the Deale platform. The vehicle provides loans of up to €300,000, with the capacity to finance up to 30% of a company’s acquisition price and a target maturity of four years. As an investment criterion, Deale prioritizes companies with moderate leverage levels, targeting approximately 3.0x net financial debt to EBITDA following the transaction.
This Asset-Backed Finance project is advised by financial services firm Intermoney Asset Backed Finance and law firm FILS.
The new business line is being launched at a time when private financing continues to gain prominence in mid-market acquisition transactions, driven by greater selectivity among traditional lenders, demand for more flexible capital structures, and the need to strengthen deal certainty in M&A processes. In Spain, this trend coincides with the challenge of generational succession across the business landscape, particularly among SMEs, many of which are expected to undergo ownership transitions in the coming years.
As its first transaction, Deale Credit participated in the acquisition of SPLASTIC, a plastic injection molding company, in a deal led by an industrial buyer. In this transaction, the financing provided by Deale Credit represented 16.7% of the enterprise value, helping accelerate completion and optimize the financial resources allocated to the acquisition. The transaction was completed in 280 days.
Deale Credit is currently reviewing more than ten financing opportunities across a range of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, professional services, and publishing and content production activities. Average financing tickets range between €180,000 and €300,000, highlighting the growing demand for flexible financing solutions in the middle-market segment.
According to Gerard García, Founder and CEO of Deale: “With Deale Credit, we are taking a natural step in the evolution of our business model by addressing a recurring need we have consistently identified in mid-market transactions: access to agile, flexible financing aligned with real execution timelines. Our goal is to help accelerate deal completion, expand buyers’ options within the platform, and continue supporting the development of a market that is particularly relevant in Spain, where many transactions are driven by the generational transition of SMEs.”
With Deale Credit, the company moves toward a more comprehensive offering by bringing together opportunity origination, transaction execution, and partial acquisition financing within a single digital platform.
About Deale
Deale is Europe’s first independent digital M&A platform dedicated to simplifying the buying and selling of businesses. The platform has more than 23,000 registered users, including 9,500 SMEs, 10,380 investors, and 3,000 advisors, and receives approximately 250 business sale opportunities every week. In addition, the platform significantly reduces transaction response times, completing deals in an average of 120 days.
In just four years, Deale has already achieved more than 1,770 satisfied users. The company was awarded Most Innovative Start-up at the 15th Cinco Días Business Innovation Awards in 2023 and was also a finalist in the 4th Expansión Start-Up Awards and CaixaBank’s Banca XXI Challenge / Emprende XXI Awards, standing out among more than 100 projects in the financial innovation category.