– Abacus Finance Group, LLC announced the final closing of Abacus Finance SBIC Fund I, L.P., raising $87.5 million in private capital for a total fund size of $262.5 million.
– The fund was oversubscribed and reached its hard cap.
– The fund leverages the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, which provides government-backed leverage to support small business growth.
– Leadership team: Timothy G. Clifford, Sean McKeever, Seth Friedman, and Eric Petersen — with a combined 125+ years of experience lending to U.S.-based small businesses.
– Marks a major milestone for Abacus Finance Group’s inaugural fund, demonstrating strong investor confidencein the firm’s strategy and management.
– Backed by a diverse investor base, including high-net-worth individuals, commercial banks, endowments, family offices, and insurance companies.
– Tim Clifford, CEO & Founding Partner: Expressed gratitude for investor support and confidence in Abacus’ mission to drive small business growth and job creation.
– Sean McKeever, President & Founding Partner: Emphasized the SBIC program’s strategic importance in expanding access to growth capital for entrepreneurs and supporting sustainable value creation.
– SBIC program overview: Encourages private equity investment in small businesses through government-backed leverage, enabling funds like Abacus SBIC to provide debt and equity co-investments across multiple sectors.
– Seth Friedman (Managing Director): Highlighted the collaborative nature of the fund’s success and credited both limited partners and the SBA for enabling investment in underserved markets.
– Eric Petersen (Managing Director): Discussed the fund’s focus on cash-flow-generating SMBs that need capital to accelerate growth, stressing Abacus’ value-add approach through operational and strategic support.
– Abacus has already deployed approximately 40% of the fund across multiple portfolio companies.
– Plans to deploy remaining capital within 9–18 months, targeting businesses with strong growth potential and job-creation capacity.
