Pre-close · Cybersecurity Services

Cybersecurity Services Deals: Change of Control Consents Done Right

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors managing cybersecurity services transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $10M to $130M EV EBITDA $2.5M to $22M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

An independent sponsor closing cybersecurity services transactions in the $10M to $130M EV range has a defined set of moves at the Change of Control Consents stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.

The typical cybersecurity services platform sits at $10M to $130M EV with EBITDA in the $2.5M to $22M range. The thesis runs on MSSP or specialty consulting platform. Cleared workforce is the moat. Cleared workforce can also be the deal-killer in CFIUS reviews.

The moves

How Change of Control Consents actually gets structured.

  1. Build a consent matrix from the data room contracts.

  2. Sort consents into required, prudent, and informational categories.

  3. Assign owners and deadlines for each consent.

  4. Track consent progress in a single closing dashboard.

  5. In cybersecurity services, layer in FSO succession plan in place as part of the Change of Control Consents workstream.

The common mistake

Discovering a required consent on the day before close. The signing slips, the deal team loses leverage.

Jason's take
"Consents are a project, not a footnote. Run them like a project."
Jason Powell · Change of Control Consents
Capital after close

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

Most independent sponsors solve the closing capital and then run into the post-close capital problem alone. The capital markets relationships that matter at month 18 are part of this practice.

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 cybersecurity services target, and a Change of Control Consents 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.