# As Private Credit Captures 90% of Lower Middle Market LBO Financing, Abacus Finance Group Expands Its Relationship-Driven Approach to Deliver Certainty of Close

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/as-private-credit-captures-90-of-lower-middle-market-lbo-financing-abacus-finance-group-expands-its-relationship-driven-approach-to-deliver-certainty-of-close
- Published: 2026-08-13T10:30:00+07:00
- Author: MarketersMEDIA Newswire

_Direct lending now dominates lower middle market buyout financing, but growing 
volume has not resolved the sector’s core challenge: sponsors need lenders who can
close. Abacus Finance Group is actively expanding its relationship-driven lending
model to meet that need across sponsor-backed acquisitions and recapitalizations
nationwide._

New York, United States, August 13, 2026 — Private equity sponsors operating in 
the lower middle market face a changing financing landscape. Banks have retreated,
and private credit has filled the gap, but lenders vary widely. Many larger credit
platforms prioritize volume over execution quality, neglecting complex smaller deals.
And when a lender re-trades or misses a commitment, the sponsor pays the price.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/mmstudio-images/gallery/uFfwwPMFt3WoxzSQRJZDChp5pod2/
1786569932730-0.jpg)

The scale of this shift is documented. According to Ropes & Gray, direct lending
accounted for [90% of lower middle market](https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2025/03/us-pe-market-recap)
LBO financing in 2024, up from just 36% in 2014. As direct lenders have come to 
dominate this space, transaction certainty is becoming a central issue. With roll-
up strategies now accounting for over 80% of all lower middle market deals, [per Cherry Bekaert](https://www.cbh.com/insights/reports/private-equity-report-2024-trends-and-2025-outlook/),
each add-on acquisition demands a lender who knows the sponsor, knows the sector,
and can commit to terms that hold through close. A re-trade at the term sheet stage
costs time, but a re-trade in the final days of a transaction can destroy a deal
that took months to build.

To address the execution gap in lower middle market lending, [Abacus Finance Group](https://abacusfinance.com/)
is expanding its sponsor coverage and deepening its focus on relationship-driven,
certainty-of-close financing for private equity-backed acquisitions and recapitalizations.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York, the firm has closed billions in financings
across more than a decade of lower middle market transactions.

The firm’s lower middle market lending model is built around relationships. Abacus
Finance Group constructs custom cash flow-based senior financing solutions for each
transaction, beginning with the sponsor’s goals and structuring backward to fit 
the business. The team maintains direct communication throughout the life of every
deal. Sponsors aren’t handed to a coverage banker and then routed through a credit
committee that has never met them. The same team that underwrites a deal closes 
it.

Abacus Finance Group brings 125+ years of combined leveraged finance experience 
to each transaction. The company has financed acquisitions, add-ons, recapitalizations,
and growth financings for sponsor-backed companies throughout the United States.
Multiple sponsor partners report working with the firm across more than a decade
of transactions. This relationship-driven model shows up in the firm’s recent work.
In mid-2026, Abacus served as sole lender and administrative agent on the senior
debt financing behind Achieve Partners’ investment in Celito Tech. Achieve Managing
Director Aanand Radia noted that Abacus delivered the certainty Achieve was looking
for in a financing partner and closed the transaction on a tight timeline.

About the company: Abacus Finance Group is a New York-based provider of cash flow-
based senior financing solutions for sponsor-backed lower middle market companies
across the United States. Founded in 2011 by Tim Clifford, the firm has closed over
$3.5 billion in financings, maintains a second office in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
and is recognized for its relationship-driven approach and certainty of close.

Contact Info: 
Name: Seth FriedmanEmail: [Send Email](https://send.releasecontact.com/89200517)
Organization: Abacus FinanceWebsite: [https://abacusfinance.com/](https://abacusfinance.com/)

Release ID: 89200517

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**Source** : [As Private Credit Captures 90% of Lower Middle Market LBO Financing, Abacus Finance Group Expands Its Relationship-Driven Approach to Deliver Certainty of Close](https://news.marketersmedia.com/as-private-credit-captures-90percent-of-lower-middle-market-lbo-financing-abacus-finance-group-expands-its-relationship-driven-approach-to-deliver-certainty-of-close/89200517?rand=206000)

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