Why private credit has become the preferred acquisition finance solution for mid-market corporate buyers in Asia Pacific and how to structure a deal your bank cannot fund.
Published by
Donald Klip | Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group | Head, GMG Capital Advisory
30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.
[email protected] | +65 9773 0273 | Singapore · Hong Kong | Asia-Pacific
Acquisition finance is one of the most time-sensitive and structurally demanding forms of corporate debt. Deals have hard closing dates. Sellers have other buyers. The difference between a transaction that completes and one that falls over is often not the quality of the business being acquired, it is the speed and certainty of the financing.
In mid-market M&A, the acquirer who can demonstrate certain, fast financing wins. Private credit delivers both.
Why Banks Struggle with Mid-Market Acquisition Finance
Bank credit processes take 8–14 weeks. Most mid-market acquisitions have exclusivity periods of 4–8 weeks. The timeline mismatch alone kills deals.
Banks apply conservative leverage multiples that frequently leave acquirers with insufficient total capital to close at the agreed price.
Banks require extensive historical financials on the target, creating problems for privately held, regionally structured, or non-standard businesses.
Cross-border acquisitions often exceed any single bank's regional risk appetite or require multi-bank syndication, adding cost and complexity.
Banks increasingly apply sector restrictions that exclude entire categories of acquisition target regardless of specific deal quality.
Private Credit Acquisition Finance Structures
Senior acquisition bridge: A fully committed facility covering the acquisition price, structured for 12–24 months with a clear refinancing or exit plan. Fast to arrange, single lender decision, minimal syndication risk.
Unitranche: A blended senior and mezzanine facility. Eliminates layered capital structure complexity, allows higher leverage, and provides a clean single-lender relationship.
Acquisition bridge plus working capital: Many acquisitions require not just purchase price financing but additional capital to fund the acquired business's immediate working capital requirements.
Vendor finance complement: Where the seller takes back a vendor note, private credit can layer senior debt on top, maximising total leverage while keeping the structure clean.
Cross-Border Acquisitions: GMG's Particular Strength
Cross-border acquisitions represent a disproportionate share of mid-market M&A activity in Asia Pacific. A Singapore family office acquiring a Thai hospitality asset. An Australian business buying an Indonesian manufacturing operation. A Hong Kong conglomerate expanding into Philippine logistics.
These transactions are exactly where bank financing most consistently fails. GMG Capital Advisory operates across 23+ Asia Pacific jurisdictions with established legal relationships in each. We have structured and arranged cross-border acquisition finance transactions across the region and understand the specific requirements of multi-jurisdiction security packages and cross-border cash flow structures.
The mid-market acquisition that closes is rarely the one with the cheapest financing. It is the one with the most certain financing.
About GMG Capital Advisory
Donald Klip | Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group | Head, GMG Capital Advisory
Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.
www.gmg.asia | [email protected] | +65 9773 0273 | Singapore · Hong Kong
The Debt Desk
Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series.
www.gmg.asia | Read all 41 articles in the series
