338(h)(10) Elections Counsel for Food & Beverage Acquisitions
Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors structuring food and beverage transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.
Food & Beverage deals in the lower middle market run a specific playbook. 338(h)(10) Elections is where the structure either holds or starts to leak.
The typical food and beverage platform sits at $10M to $120M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $20M range. The thesis runs on CPG roll-up or co-packing platform with regional bolt-ons. Treat trade spend like a working capital item, not a marketing line. The valuation moves accordingly.
How 338(h)(10) Elections actually gets structured.
Run a side-by-side tax model showing the seller's grossed-up purchase price requirement.
Document the election in the purchase agreement, with required IRS forms attached.
Confirm the seller's eligibility, including the consolidated group structure.
Plan the tax gross-up payment, often funded out of the buyer's price.
In food and beverage, layer in co-pack capacity agreement re-papered as part of the 338(h)(10) Elections workstream.
Demanding a 338(h)(10) without offering the seller a tax gross-up. The election only works if the math works for the seller too.
"338(h)(10) is a buyer benefit you have to pay for. Price it into the LOI, not the surprise column."Jason Powell · 338(h)(10) Elections
The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.
Capital after close is where the IRR actually gets made. The right introductions at month nine through month thirty are where this practice works as hard as it does at the LOI.
Related deal pages.
Transaction Fee Structuring for Food & Beverage
The fee paid at closing to the independent sponsor for sourcing, structuring, and closing the platform deal a…
Working Capital Adjustments for Food & Beverage
The closing-date true-up that protects the buyer from receiving a business stripped of normal-course working …
Representation & Warranty Insurance for Food & Beverage
A buyer-side insurance product covering breach of seller representations, reducing seller escrow and indemnit…
Indemnification for Food & Beverage
The seller's contractual promise to compensate the buyer for breaches of representations, covenants, and spec…
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338(h)(10) Elections for Food & Beverage, 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.