US Business Funding Will Retain Name & Special Sauce in Wake of Fora Deal

Fora Financial’s announcement yesterday that it acquired a sizable stake in US Business Funding (USBF) will create one of the “largest, broadest reaching direct sales organizations in the small business alternative lending space,” the company said in a statement.

USBF is a direct sales and marketing company of about 40 to 50 people. Fora Financial founder and CEO told AltFinanceDaily that his company started working with USBF to obtain leads two years ago and that this acquisition has been in the works for between 12 to 18 months.   

Jared Feldman, CEO, Fora Financial

“We were looking for a team that does direct sales and marketing that complements what we do,” Feldman said. “And they’re one of the best at [direct marketing] in the business.”

USBF is based in Santa Ana, CA, and has connected customers to financing since 2008, with an emphasis originally on equipment financing. In 2012, they started facilitating working capital deals and that now makes up 85 percent of the company’s business, according to its CEO Peter Ribeiro.

They provide financing solutions ranging from $10,000 to $10 million. Fora Financial, also established in 2008, is a New York-based funding company that funds MCA deals and provides small business loans up to $500,000.

Consistent with yesterday’s announcement, Feldman said that with Fora Financial and USBF combined, they will likely originate $400 million year. Feldman told AltFinanceDaily today that, of this amount, about $300 million should come from direct sales.

“We’re more heavily weighted towards direct sales,” Feldman said.

Formerly a company of 100, the new entity will now include about 150 employees and will share resources like capital, technology and access to help with compliance, Feldman said. USBF will retain its name, location and all of its employees.

“We wouldn’t have done this deal unless Peter [USBF founder and CEO] and his team agreed to stay on,” Feldman said. “They have a fantastic brand and we want to avoid getting in their way. We just want to help them to continue doing what they do.”

Feldman said that while USBF will retain its name, “we’re now a combined entity with an east and west coast operation.”

Fora Financial acquired USBF because it did something unique, and Feldman said that Fora is looking for opportunities to acquire other companies that do uniques things in the financing space.

Todd Stone was a reporter for AltFinanceDaily.