Post-close · Building Products

Building Products Deals: Dividend Recapitalization Done Right

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors structuring building products transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $10M to $150M EV EBITDA $2.5M to $25M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

The economics on a building products platform deal usually hinge on a handful of structural decisions. Dividend Recapitalization is one of them.

The typical building products platform sits at $10M to $150M EV with EBITDA in the $2.5M to $25M range. The thesis runs on regional manufacturer or specialty distributor consolidation. Pricing power lives in dealer contracts, not in branding. Read the dealer agreements before the LOI.

The moves

How Dividend Recapitalization actually gets structured.

  1. Time the recap when leverage has come down and EBITDA has grown.

  2. Structure the new senior debt with room for ongoing operations and add-ons.

  3. Confirm that the LP waterfall recognizes the distribution as recap, not exit.

  4. Coordinate tax treatment of the distribution with the LPs in advance.

  5. In building products, layer in raw-material pass-through clauses confirmed as part of the Dividend Recapitalization workstream.

The common mistake

Recapping too early. Lenders price it; LPs feel it; the next deal cost goes up.

Jason's take
"Recaps are a tool, not a habit. Use them when the operating story supports them."
Jason Powell · Dividend Recapitalization
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
WORK WITH JASON

Bring the building products deal. Get Dividend Recapitalization done right.

Direct counsel from a securities and M&A attorney with billions in structured transactions, the independent-sponsor-native playbook, and the capital markets network that opens up post-close.