ERISA & Benefits Diligence Counsel for Food & Beverage Acquisitions
Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors diligencing food and beverage transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.
The economics on a food and beverage platform deal usually hinge on a handful of structural decisions. ERISA & Benefits Diligence is one of them.
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 ERISA & Benefits Diligence actually gets structured.
Pull the 5500s and audit reports for the last three years.
Identify any controlled-group exposure that follows the seller post-close.
Address multi-employer pension withdrawal liability where applicable.
Plan the benefits transition to the buyer's plans, with a TSA period if needed.
In food and beverage, layer in co-pack capacity agreement re-papered as part of the ERISA & Benefits Diligence workstream.
Skipping the multi-employer pension review. It can show up as a 7-figure surprise three months post-close.
"ERISA is the silent deal-killer. Treat it like senior debt diligence."Jason Powell · ERISA & Benefits Diligence
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.
Related deal pages.
Independent Sponsor Economics for Food & Beverage
The package of deal-by-deal carry, management fees, and transaction fees that compensates the independent spo…
Management Fee Structuring for Food & Beverage
The annual fee paid by the deal entity to the independent sponsor for ongoing oversight, board service, and p…
Transaction Fee Structuring for Food & Beverage
The fee paid at closing to the independent sponsor for sourcing, structuring, and closing the platform deal a…
Equity Rollover for Food & Beverage
The portion of seller proceeds reinvested into the post-close entity, aligning seller with buyer.
ERISA & Benefits Diligence for Healthcare Services
roll-up of physician practices and ancillary service lines
ERISA & Benefits Diligence for Home Services
regional roll-ups of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical operators
Bring the food and beverage deal. Get ERISA & Benefits Diligence 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.