Deal fee

Definition

A cash fee the sponsor charges the deal at closing for finding it.

Why It Matters

This is how an unpaid searcher gets paid for the work that reached a signing, and it comes out of the money raised to buy the business, so every dollar of it is a dollar not sitting in the company on day one. Investors read its size as a statement about the searcher: modest and disclosed early reads as alignment, large and produced late reads as a second negotiation. Lenders read it as a use of funds and want it on the closing statement, so a fee agreed by handshake and produced at the table can hold up an approval. On an SBA purchase, loan money may not pay an owner except as fair pay for services actually rendered, so a fee to a searcher who owns the buyer belongs in the lender's first conversation.

In numbers: A 2% deal fee on a $6M purchase is $120,000 paid at closing, funded out of the same loan and equity as the purchase price itself.