Pre-close · Aerospace & Defense

IP Transfer & Licensing Counsel for Aerospace & Defense Acquisitions

When the deal is aerospace and defense and the question is IP Transfer & Licensing, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.

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

Every aerospace and defense acquisition has its own gravity. IP Transfer & Licensing is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

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 IP Transfer & Licensing actually gets structured.

  1. Identify all IP, including informal employee-inventor work product.

  2. Pull assignments and works-for-hire records, with gaps remediated pre-close.

  3. Address open-source license compliance in any software stack.

  4. Plan trademark assignment recordation and continuation filings.

  5. In aerospace and defense, layer in ITAR / EAR registration transferred or refiled before close as part of the IP Transfer & Licensing workstream.

The common mistake

Assuming the company owns its IP because the website says so. Without paper, ownership is a hope.

Jason's take
"Every piece of IP in the deal needs a chain of title. Find the gaps before the buyer's counsel does."
Jason Powell · IP Transfer & Licensing
Capital after close

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

Refinancing, recaps, growth rounds, and the right strategic conversation eighteen months early are all downstream of relationships that take years to build and minutes to use.

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 IP Transfer & Licensing 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.