Post-close · Home Services

Home Services Dividend Recapitalization: An Independent Sponsor's Counsel

Structuring Dividend Recapitalization on home services deals, with the structure protection and capital connectivity an independent sponsor actually needs.

EV range $8M to $80M EV EBITDA $2M to $15M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

Every home services acquisition has its own gravity. Dividend Recapitalization is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

The typical home services platform sits at $8M to $80M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $15M range. The thesis runs on regional roll-ups of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical operators. The cleanest home services deals close in 60 days from LOI. The mess is almost always in the licenses, not the financials.

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 home services, layer in working capital peg that survives a slow February 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.

After close, the call list for refinancing, recapitalization, and growth equity gets short and known. Jason carries that list.

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 home services target, and a Dividend Recapitalization 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.