WILMINGTON, N.C., Sept. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (“Live Oak”) (Nasdaq:LOB) announces Heather Endresen and Lisa Forrest will serve as senior loan officers for the bank’s new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lending team. This segment was developed to help customers understand the process of buying other businesses and the role of financing in structuring a transaction.

“Selling or merging a business is incredibly complex and often overwhelming for business owners,” said Kay Anderson, director of emerging markets at Live Oak Bank. “This new segment, under the direction of seasoned industry experts, will help M&A advisors, intermediaries and individuals or groups structure their M&A business.”

Endresen has launched and served as managing director of several successful SBA lending business units over the past 20 years, including Citibank, Union Bank and most recently Banc of California, a top 100 SBA bank. Over the past five years, she developed a passion and a strategic focus for acquisition lending utilizing the SBA 7(a) program. She is an industry leader in this niche and is able to assist sellers, buyers and acquisition advisors in structuring financing that addresses the needs of all parties. 

Forrest brings more than 28 years of SBA-specific lending experience and is widely regarded as one of the industry’s go-to M&A financing resources for top-tier, lower middle market SBA transactions. Over the past five years, Forrest funded more than $150 million in SBA loans for M&A transactions on a nationwide basis. Prior to joining Live Oak Bank, Forrest led business development efforts for Union Bank and Fortune Bank, established a sales presence for Well Fargo in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and served as the COO for The Money Store/First Union. Most recently, she served as a director and business development officer for Banc of California’s national M&A lending division.

“Broad financing options, flexible terms, competitive rates, speed and technology are just a few of the benefits of working with Live Oak Bank to finance M&A – along with the extensive expertise of our lending team,” said Anderson. “Our deep understanding of M&A means we understand complex equity structures and are able to structure deals that go beyond the transaction itself to ensuring a successful business in the long term.”

Live Oak Bank specializes in acquisition financing across all industries nationwide, with maximum project size of $8 million. We offer a consultative relationship to help customers navigate the complex M&A process with extensive financing options, flexible terms and unparalleled technology that allows real-time transparency. Whether you are a broker, intermediary, search fund or individual, our team will help you understand the process of acquiring a business structured with SBA financing.

To learn more about Live Oak Bank and our services for mergers and acquisitions, visit https://www.liveoakbank.com/mergers-and-acquisition-loans/.     

About Live Oak Bank

Live Oak Bank was founded to provide small business loans to professionals across the country looking to start or expand their businesses. Live Oak is an FDIC-insured national footprint bank and one of the largest originators of small business loans in the country. To learn more about Live Oak Bank, please visit www.liveoakbank.com.

Micah Davis 
877.890.5867 
micah.davis@liveoakbank.com