Oak Street Funding, a First Financial Bank company that specializes in loans to CPAs, said it is doubling the lending limit for customers to support mergers and acquisitions, successions, technology investments and growth-focused initiatives at firms.
The company said it is now providing loans of up to $30 million for CPA businesses in the niche vertical industries its lending team supports, a 50% increase in loan amounts previously available. Oak Street said its decision to increase capital available for CPAs’ business needs came in response to the current market, in which many firms are pursuing M&A deals and reviewing their succession plans as baby boomers continue to retire.
“Recent data shows lending requests are trending upward,” said Oak Street Funding CEO Rick Dennen said in a statement Monday. “Meanwhile, business valuations have increased, with CPA practices seeing the cost of mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic opportunities climb beyond the comfort level of traditional capital sources. With the increase in our lending limit, Oak Street Funding continues to demonstrate our agility in quickly responding to the changing market.”
The pace of M&A activity seems to have picked up this year, with a great many
