Auto Aftermarket Exit Preparation: An Independent Sponsor's Counsel
When the deal is auto aftermarket and the question is Exit Preparation, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.
Exit Preparation on auto aftermarket deals is one of those workstreams that looks routine on a checklist and decides outcomes in practice.
The typical auto aftermarket platform sits at $8M to $90M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $16M range. The thesis runs on service-center or specialty-shop regional roll-ups. Technician shortage is the single biggest valuation risk. Underwrite the bench, not the bays.
How Exit Preparation actually gets structured.
Clean the cap table 18 months before the planned exit window.
Refresh the IP, employment, and customer contract files for diligence readiness.
Build a quality-of-earnings ready financial package well before bankers come in.
Coordinate sponsor exit economics with the LP waterfall and any rolled-equity holders.
In auto aftermarket, layer in technician retention pool defined and funded as part of the Exit Preparation workstream.
Starting exit prep when the banker calls. By then, every fix costs price.
"Exit prep is what separates a 6x outcome from an 8x outcome. The work starts before the banker."Jason Powell · Exit Preparation
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.
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Exit Preparation for Auto Aftermarket, on independent sponsor terms.
Independent sponsor counsel that already speaks fluent deal-by-deal economics, structures clean LPAs, and travels with capital markets relationships for what comes after close.