Buying a Business in Alaska
The Numbers
FY2025 Acquisition Loans
8
$11.8M approved
Median Loan
$699k
FY2020 through FY2025
Loans Since FY2020
65
$75.8M in total approvals
Share of U.S. Activity
0.2%
Of change-of-ownership loans
What the Data Says
Alaska ranks 50th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 65 loans since FY2020, 0.2% of the national total.
The typical deal is mid-market: its $699k median loan is close to the $650k midpoint across states.
Activity is cooling: FY2025's 8 loans ran behind the state's own ~11 a year pace since FY2020.
The most-financed target is full-service restaurants (4 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 63% of the state's acquisitions, a concentrated lender field.
This is a thin market by national standards, so expect fewer local comparables and mostly out-of-state lenders; build the shortlist deliberately rather than relying on a nearby branch.
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Alaska
- 1. Northrim Bank15 loans
- 2. Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO, Inc.14 loans
- 3. Live Oak Banking Company5 loans
- 4. Harborstone CU4 loans
- 5. First National Bank Alaska3 loans
A lender being active in Alaska does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lenders.
What Gets Bought in Alaska
- Full-Service Restaurants4 loans
- Limited-Service Restaurants4 loans
- Offices of Dentists3 loans
- Other Support Activities for Road Transportation3 loans
- Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers)3 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses Alaska holds in each trade is in Where the Businesses Are.
Method & Source
Computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (FY2020 through FY2025), filtered to approvals flagged change of ownership with a Alaska project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.