We provide lender-ready capital raise packaging and debt or equity placement support for business owners and buyers looking to secure serious term sheets and close funding on a defined timeline.
For business owners and acquirers pursuing private debt or equity, submit your deal for review. We revert within one working day with next steps and either a quote for our services.
Corporate Finance
Leveraged finance, often called LevFin, is the market for raising debt for businesses that already carry meaningful leverage or are taking leverage on to fund an acquisition, recapitalization, refinancing, or growth program.
The work is not only sourcing lenders. It is structuring the capital stack, presenting a lender grade credit story, negotiating documents, and closing on a timeline that matches the transaction.
LevFin sits between conventional corporate lending and distressed capital. It includes leveraged loans and high yield bonds, commonly called junk bonds. It can also include sponsor driven private credit in the mid market.
The market is defined by how lenders think. They underwrite cash flow durability, downside resilience, and the enforceability of security and covenants. If the business misses plan, the lenders want clear remedies and control.
Who uses LevFin: private equity sponsors, independent sponsors, founder owned companies pursuing a leveraged recap, and corporates executing acquisitions and roll ups.
Debt raised to fund purchase price, fees, and working capital. Leverage capacity is driven by cash flow conversion, customer concentration, and the quality of the equity cushion.
If you are structuring a buyout, review our acquisition financing context piece: How to acquire a business with almost no money down.
Additional debt raised after performance stabilizes, used to return capital to owners while retaining control. The market focuses on leverage headroom and future refinancing risk.
Replacing near term maturities, fixing covenant pressure, or shifting from expensive capital into a cleaner stack when markets allow. Documentation risk is often the hidden driver.
Revolving liquidity and term debt to support capex, inventory, and working capital swings. If real estate is part of the collateral story, see: Commercial loans for real estate acquisitions and construction.
Most leveraged capital stacks combine a revolver with one or more term debt layers. The mix is driven by investor base, jurisdiction, collateral, speed to close, and covenant appetite.
| Instrument | What it is | What lenders care about |
|---|---|---|
| Revolving credit facility | Committed line for working capital and letters of credit, typically senior secured. | Borrowing base, reporting discipline, and liquidity controls. |
| First lien term loan | Senior secured term debt, usually floating rate, often widely syndicated. | Leverage, cash flow stability, covenant package, and collateral enforceability. |
| Unitranche | Single blended facility combining senior and junior economics under one agreement. | Execution certainty, intercreditor simplicity, and sponsor support. |
| Second lien | Secured by the same collateral, junior claim via an intercreditor agreement. | Recovery assumptions, lien priority, and refinancing optionality. |
| High yield bonds or junk bonds | Public or private bond issuance with a trust indenture. Often fixed rate, incurrence based covenants. | Ratings, disclosure, covenant flexibility, and call schedule. |
| Mezzanine and payment in kind | Junior capital with higher pricing, sometimes allowing interest to accrue to principal. | Downside protection, equity cushion, and sponsor willingness to support. |
Leveraged loans are typically floating rate and documented under a credit agreement. They are often secured and may be syndicated to banks and institutional investors. In the US market, institutional tranches commonly include covenant lite terms, where the traditional maintenance tests are reduced or removed for the term loan and kept mainly on the revolver.
Junk bonds, also called high yield bonds, are typically fixed rate and documented under an indenture. They often rely on incurrence covenants rather than ongoing maintenance tests. The covenant language is highly technical and can materially affect recoveries and lender protections.
In the bond market, credit ratings act as a common language for investors. Ratings influence eligible investor pools, benchmark comparisons, index inclusion, and sometimes mandated thresholds in investment policies.
The three headline agencies are S and P Global Ratings, Moody’s Ratings, and Fitch Ratings. In the United States, many market participants reference the SEC framework for nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, also known as NRSROs.
The market split between investment grade and high yield is commonly drawn at BBB minus and above for S and P and Fitch, and Baa3 and above for Moody’s. Below that line is speculative grade, which is where junk bonds sit.
They provide forward looking credit opinions based on business risk, financial risk, liquidity, capital structure, and event risk. They also publish methodologies and definitions that the market uses for consistency.
A rating is not a guarantee, not a term sheet, and not a commitment to fund. Execution still comes down to pricing, demand, disclosure, and documents.
Lenders do not size debt from a pitch deck. They size it from cash flow, downside scenarios, and control rights. The same credit questions show up in every serious process.
Quality of earnings matters: a credible bridge from statutory earnings to lender underwritten EBITDA can move pricing and leverage more than any single negotiation point.
Pricing in LevFin is an all in yield problem. A borrower can focus on a margin or a coupon and still misread the true cost of capital.
Covenants are not a single headline test. They are a set of permissions and restrictions expressed through baskets, exceptions, and definitions. A small definition change can materially alter what the borrower can do.
| Area | What the documents restrict | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Debt and liens | Additional borrowing, secured debt, and priority structures. | Protects senior lenders from being primed or structurally subordinated. |
| Restricted payments | Dividends, share repurchases, and sponsor distributions. | Preserves cash for debt service and downside resilience. |
| Asset sales | Disposals, sale leasebacks, and transfers to unrestricted entities. | Reduces asset leakage and protects recovery value. |
| Investments and acquisitions | Acquisitions, JV investments, and intercompany movements. | Controls risk taking and prevents uncontrolled leverage creep. |
| Reporting and access | Financial reporting cadence, compliance certificates, budget delivery, and audit rights. | Early visibility can prevent technical defaults and surprise liquidity events. |
LevFin execution can be a club deal, a broadly syndicated loan, a private credit transaction, or a bond issuance. Each route has a different risk profile.
Serious LevFin runs on a structured process. The goal is to create clean lender decisions fast, while controlling confidentiality and avoiding needless rework.
| Phase | What happens | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Structure design, lender targeting, model build, diligence plan, rating strategy where bonds are in scope. | Data room checklist, lender list, lender pack outline, credit narrative. |
| Market sounding | Initial term discussions, Q and A management, refinement of structure and covenant priorities. | Indicative terms, issues log, revised assumptions. |
| Underwriting | Diligence workstreams, legal drafting, credit approvals, syndication or allocation planning. | Commitment papers, draft agreements, final economics. |
| Closing | Conditions satisfied, funds flow, security perfection, post close reporting setup. | Executed documents, closing set, reporting calendar. |
If you want competitive terms, your file needs to read like a lender can approve it. Weak packaging is one of the fastest ways to lose pricing tension.
If you are raising debt for an acquisition, recapitalization, or refinancing, Financely can run the LevFin process end to end. We structure the capital stack, prepare lender grade underwriting materials, coordinate diligence, negotiate term sheets and documents, and manage outreach to lenders and investors through appropriate channels, including regulated partners where required.
If you want to sanity check structure and leverage capacity first, review our FAQ or book a paid consultation before engaging.
This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or regulatory advice. Financely is not a bank, not a broker dealer, and not a direct lender. All outcomes are subject to diligence, compliance screening including KYC, AML, and sanctions, counterparty approvals, and definitive documentation.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
To proceed,
request a quote
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book a paid telephone consultation.
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All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
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