Capital raise · Home Services

Home Services Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion: An Independent Sponsor's Counsel

Independent sponsor counsel for home services, focused on Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion and the deal mechanics that protect sponsor economics and LP alignment.

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

An independent sponsor closing home services transactions in the $8M to $80M EV range has a defined set of moves at the Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.

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 Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion actually gets structured.

  1. Reset economics: traditional 25 percent carry tranches do not translate cleanly to deal-by-deal.

  2. Renegotiate investor rights so single-deal commitments do not carry fund-style governance.

  3. Document the conversion with new entity formation, not just an amendment.

  4. Refresh the cap table to reflect deal-specific co-investment, not pooled fund commitments.

  5. In home services, layer in working capital peg that survives a slow February as part of the Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion workstream.

The common mistake

Trying to convert mid-search. The original investors expect their committed-capital economics; the conversion has to be deliberate and consensual.

Jason's take
"Search and independent sponsor look similar from outside and are different inside. Convert with paper, not assumption."
Jason Powell · Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion
Capital after close

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.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

Search Fund to Independent Sponsor Conversion for Home Services, 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.