Stage 5 · Traditional SME
Financing a business takeover
Taking over an SME, buying out a competitor or a business (fonds de commerce): the public financing for business transfers.
- 62
open schemes - 0
closed scheme (history) - 12 national
13 local or regional - 5
funding families
Taking over a business is almost always financed through a structure combining the buyer's own contribution, bank acquisition debt and, often, vendor financing. Public schemes strengthen each of these layers: honour loans for the contribution, Bpifrance loans to supplement bank debt, guarantees for the bank, tax relief for certain sales.
The catalogue lists {{ouvertes}} open schemes for this stage. Many local grants cover both start-up and takeover; schemes specific to business transfers are mainly national.
What needs financing to take over a business?
A takeover mobilises three financing blocks.
The acquisition price
Company shares or a business (fonds de commerce), financed by the buyer's contribution, acquisition debt and sometimes vendor financing.
The buyer's contribution
A condition for bank debt: transmission honour loans and investor contributions strengthen it.
After the takeover
Working capital needs, modernisation, investments deferred by the seller.
Where are you in the process?
Key schemes
National schemes specific to business transfers.
Prêt transmission
Bpifrance
Up to €1,500,000
From €40,000 to €1,500,000, capped at 40% of acquisition debt, over 5 to 7 years.
Prêt Croissance Transmission
Bpifrance
Up to €5,000,000
From €50,000 to €5,000,000 for companies more than three years old, including certain strategic minority acquisitions.
Garantie Transmission
Bpifrance
Bpifrance guarantee on part of the bank transmission loan, applied for by the bank.
SIAGI - Garantie Reprise
SIAGI
Up to €4,000,000
Guarantee of 20% to 70% on takeover loans, from €5,000 to €4,000,000.
Exonération des droits de mutation en cas de cession d'une entreprise à un salarié ou au conjoint du cédant
Ministère de l’Economie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté Industrielle, Energétique et Numérique
Up to €500,000
€500,000 allowance on registration duties when the business is bought by an employee or a family member.
Accélérateur Transmission-Reprise
Financeur non résolu (DGE)
Up to €28,100
Closes on 9 Dec 2026
18-month programme for SME and mid-cap business owners preparing a transfer or a takeover.
Prêt Transmission or Prêt Croissance Transmission?
Bpifrance supplements bank acquisition debt with two loans. Prêt Transmission ranges from €40,000 to €1,500,000, capped at 40% of the total debt linked to the deal, over 5, 6 or 7 years with a repayment grace period of up to 24 months. It applies to the transfer of a majority of capital or voting rights.
Prêt Croissance Transmission, for companies more than three years old, ranges from €50,000 to €5,000,000, over 3 to 7 years with up to 2 years' grace period, within the same 40% cap on total debt. It can also finance certain strategic minority acquisitions or the takeover of a business (fonds de commerce).
Strengthening your contribution with a transmission honour loan
Honour loan networks have funds dedicated to takeovers. In Île-de-France, the Île-de-France Transmission honour loan adds €3,000 to €25,000 to a first honour loan, interest-free and without personal collateral, repayable over up to five years, for the takeover of a profitable business maintaining at least three jobs and a financing plan of more than €100,000. Other regions (Brittany, Auvergne, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire) have comparable schemes.
Guarantees and tax treatment of the sale
On the bank side, Bpifrance's Garantie Transmission and SIAGI's Garantie Reprise cover part of the acquisition loan; SIAGI states a coverage rate of 20% to 70% for loans of €5,000 to €4,000,000. On the tax side, the purchase of a business by an employee or a family member of the seller qualifies for a €500,000 allowance when calculating registration duties, subject to conditions.
Lastly, ACRE and ARCE, presented in the 'Start-up' stage, also apply to the takeover of a business by a jobseeker.
All schemes for this stage
62 schemes open — page 1 of 4
Prêt Croissance Transmission
Bpifrance
Up to €5,000,000
SIAGI - Garantie Reprise
SIAGI
Up to €4,000,000
Prêt transmission
Bpifrance
Up to €1,500,000
Prêt transmission Grand Est
Bpifrance, Région Grand Est
Up to €650,000
Exonération des droits de mutation en cas de cession d'une entreprise à un salarié ou au conjoint du cédant
Ministère de l’Economie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté Industrielle, Energétique et Numérique
Up to €500,000
Aide à la reprise d'entreprises en difficulté
Région Grand Est
Up to €250,000
Aide au financement de la reprise d’entreprises à la barre du tribunal
Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Up to €200,000
Aide à la création, à la croissance et à la transmission des entreprises de la première transformation du bois
Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Up to €200,000
Fonds Impact Local - Création ou reprise d'un commerce sous enseigne
Bpifrance, Financeurs privés, Union européenne
Up to €200,000
START’UP - Aide à la création/reprise d'entreprises
Région Hauts-de-France
Up to €200,000
Prêt d'honneur Pays de La Loire transmission-reprise
Bpifrance, Région Pays de la Loire
Up to €60,000
Aide à l'investissement reprise d'entreprise TPE
Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Up to €50,000
Aide à la création ou à la reprise d’activité de disquaires indépendants
Centre national de la musique (CNM)
Up to €50,000
Aide à la reprise d'entreprise
CC Creuse Sud-Ouest
Up to €50,000
Aide à la reprise d'entreprise
Agglo de Brive
Up to €50,000
Closes on 31 Dec 2026
Impulsion Proximité - Transmission/Reprise
Région Normandie
Up to €50,000
Prêt d'honneur Auvergne Transmission
Bpifrance, CCI région ex-Auvergne, Financeurs privés, Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Union Européenne-FEDER/JEREMIE
Up to €50,000
Prêt d'honneur Réseau Entreprendre Franche-Comté - création/reprise
Bpifrance, Financeurs privés, Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Up to €50,000
Schemes linked to this stage after individual review (unreviewed proposals are never shown). Scope is "national" or "local" based on the territory declared by the scheme; 37 scheme(s) with no territory on record are counted in neither.
Steps to secure funding
- 1Value the targetAnd build the takeover's financing plan.
- 2Strengthen the contributionTransmission honour loan, investors, possible vendor financing.
- 3Negotiate the acquisition debtGuaranteed bank loan, supplemented by a Bpifrance loan.
- 4Optimise the tax treatment of the saleAllowance in the event of a purchase by an employee or a family member.
- 5Prepare for after the takeoverCash flow and investments in the first months.
Useful resources
Frequently asked questions
What share of the price can Bpifrance loans finance?
Prêt Transmission and Prêt Croissance Transmission are limited to 40% of the total debt linked to the deal: they supplement a bank loan, they do not replace it.
Do start-up grants apply to a takeover?
Many do, yes: ACRE, ARCE and many honour loans and local grants cover takeovers as well as start-ups.
Can you take over a simple business (fonds de commerce) with these schemes?
Prêt Croissance Transmission specifically mentions the takeover of a business (fonds de commerce); other schemes specify their scope in their own conditions.
A scale-up acquiring to accelerate, particularly internationally? See the startup path's external growth stage.
See startup external growthOfficial sources
- Prêt Transmission — Bpifrance — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
- Prêt Croissance Transmission — Bpifrance — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
- Rachat d'entreprise par un salarié ou un proche — Entreprendre.Service-Public — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
- Île-de-France Transmission — Initiative Île-de-France — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
- La garantie de la SIAGI — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
- Accélérateurs transmission et reprise — Bpifrance — fiche Capital OS relue en octobre 2026 (source officielle citée)
Your situation is unique
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