Marketing Agencies Deals: Capital Partner LPA Done Right
Drafting Capital Partner LPA on marketing agencies deals, with the structure protection and capital connectivity an independent sponsor actually needs.
Marketing Agencies deals in the lower middle market run a specific playbook. Capital Partner LPA is where the structure either holds or starts to leak.
The typical marketing agencies platform sits at $5M to $80M EV with EBITDA in the $1.5M to $14M range. The thesis runs on specialty agency or holdco platform with bolt-ons. If the founder leaves, half the agencies in the market lose 25% of revenue. Structure for that.
How Capital Partner LPA actually gets structured.
Anchor on a 20 percent carry above an 8 percent preferred return, 50/50 catch-up.
Build a one-vote, one-LP majority for any waterfall change.
Define key-person and removal-for-cause provisions narrowly.
Make distributions quarterly, with an annual true-up against the waterfall.
In marketing agencies, layer in client roster scrubbed for top-five concentration as part of the Capital Partner LPA workstream.
Reusing a fund LPA template for a deal-by-deal structure. The economics, governance, and waterfall need to be different.
"The LPA outlives the deal. Draft it like the next ten deals will be governed by the same paper."Jason Powell · Capital Partner LPA
The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.
Refinancing, recaps, growth rounds, and the right strategic conversation eighteen months early are all downstream of relationships that take years to build and minutes to use.
Related deal pages.
LOI Negotiation for Marketing Agencies
The 4 to 8 page agreement that frames the deal economics, exclusivity, and diligence period.
Independent Sponsor Economics for Marketing Agencies
The package of deal-by-deal carry, management fees, and transaction fees that compensates the independent spo…
Management Fee Structuring for Marketing Agencies
The annual fee paid by the deal entity to the independent sponsor for ongoing oversight, board service, and p…
Equity Rollover for Marketing Agencies
The portion of seller proceeds reinvested into the post-close entity, aligning seller with buyer.
Capital Partner LPA for Healthcare Services
roll-up of physician practices and ancillary service lines
Capital Partner LPA for Home Services
regional roll-ups of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical operators
An LOI on the desk, a marketing agencies target, and a Capital Partner LPA 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.