About SLBDF
SLBDF Program

Companies with great potential typically have capital needs that are met in one or more of the following ways:

  Bank Debt  
  Credit Card Debt  
  Personal / Family / Friends  
  Equity Investors  
  Venture Capital  
     
  For many small businesses, equity investors are less desirable because they demand high rates of return and they often take an ownership position in the company.
   
  The Saint Louis Business Development Fund (SLBDF) offers something unique in the marketplace: investing in a company without taking any ownership; instead, SLBDF charges a nominal "Success Fee".  Additional information about Success Fees can be found under Pricing.
 
Company Life Cycle:
 

SLBDF requires that an applicant company have an established revenue (sales) stream and preferably have achieved positive cash flow.

Most SLBDF companies fall into one of two categories:
 
  A growing company that has a borrowing relationship with a bank (term loan and/or line of credit).  The bank, however, is unable to provide the next level of financing desired because of lack of collateral, debt-to-equity ratio, and/or pro-forma cash flow coverage.
     
  A leveraged buy-out where a bank or other lender is unwilling to provide a part of the desired financing.
     
SLBDF Subordinated Debt:
 
SLBDF will subordinate its investment to bank debt.
 
SLBDF Pricing:
 
An SLBDF investment consists of two pricing components:
 
  A term loan (typically 5 years) with a floating interest rate.
     
 

A "Success Fee" which is an annual fee based upon the amount of the SLBDF investment.

The interest rate and success fee are a function of the investment risk to SLBDF as well as the investment's value to our client (in terms of added sales and profits).  The success fee is not payable until the investment is retired.

Based upon SLBDF experience, the Success Fee is much preferred over the venture capital alternative, where a company not only surrenders a percentage of its ownership, but also provides a return from 20% to 40% or more to the equity investor.
     
Geography:
 
SLBDF makes investments in companies located anywhere within the greater St. Louis region, from Southwestern Illinois to mid-Missouri.
 
 
 
 
Saint Louis Business Development Fund
121 S. Meramec Ave., 9th Floor St. Louis, MO 63105 (314) 615-7667