Pre-close · Aerospace & Defense

Customer Contract Assignment Counsel for Aerospace & Defense Acquisitions

Managing Customer Contract Assignment on aerospace and defense deals, with the structure protection and capital connectivity an independent sponsor actually needs.

EV range $15M to $200M EV EBITDA $3M to $30M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

The economics on a aerospace and defense platform deal usually hinge on a handful of structural decisions. Customer Contract Assignment is one of them.

The typical aerospace and defense platform sits at $15M to $200M EV with EBITDA in the $3M to $30M range. The thesis runs on tier-two or tier-three supplier consolidation with certifications as moat. Foreign LP capital can trigger CFIUS review on the cleanest of deals. Map the cap table early.

The moves

How Customer Contract Assignment actually gets structured.

  1. Identify contracts with anti-assignment clauses, especially in government and healthcare.

  2. Plan the customer communication sequence to protect retention.

  3. Map consent collection against the closing checklist, with material thresholds defined.

  4. Address change-of-control notifications even where consent is not required.

  5. In aerospace and defense, layer in ITAR / EAR registration transferred or refiled before close as part of the Customer Contract Assignment workstream.

The common mistake

Asking every customer for consent. You alarm customers who would have been silent.

Jason's take
"Customer assignment is a sales motion, not a legal one. Lead with operations, follow with paper."
Jason Powell · Customer Contract Assignment
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

The capital that opens up post-close, from refinancing to growth equity to strategic exit, runs through a small set of Wall Street relationships. That network is built in.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
TALK TO JASON

An LOI on the desk, a aerospace and defense target, and a Customer Contract Assignment question worth a real conversation.

Twenty minutes of practitioner-grade input from a securities attorney whose first move is to read the deal, not the engagement letter.