Yes, provided the money's lawful origin is documented through the company's records and the buyout agreement, and the full path to the investment is traceable. The buyout must fund the required amount, currently US$800,000 in a targeted employment area or US$1,050,000 otherwise.
A buyout is lawful capital only when its history is shown
EB-5 regulations require the investor to demonstrate that the capital was obtained through lawful means, and USCIS reads that requirement as covering both the source and the path. A buyout is an ordinary commercial transaction, but the money it produces has a history inside a company: the motel's revenues, its tax filings, the partners' capital accounts and the valuation that set the price. The Kent investor should expect to produce several years of corporate returns and financial statements, the partnership agreement, the valuation, the buyout agreement and his personal returns showing the proceeds.
He must then invest the qualifying amount—verified on the day, since the thresholds adjust—into a new commercial enterprise, keep it at risk, show ten full-time jobs and be engaged in management or policy. Any portion of the buyout paid in instalments after the petition date needs separate treatment, because capital must actually be invested or in the process of being invested when the petition is filed.