Pre-close · Marketing Agencies

Cross-Border Structuring for Marketing Agencies Independent Sponsors

When the deal is marketing agencies and the question is Cross-Border Structuring, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.

EV range $5M to $80M EV EBITDA $1.5M to $14M Audience Buy & Sell-side
The deal context

Every marketing agencies acquisition has its own gravity. Cross-Border Structuring is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

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.

The moves

How Cross-Border Structuring actually gets structured.

  1. Map jurisdictional tax exposure with US and foreign counsel before the LOI.

  2. Plan repatriation mechanics if cash is generated offshore.

  3. Address CFIUS review where foreign capital is in the LP base.

  4. Structure for treaty benefits where the operating geographies allow.

  5. In marketing agencies, layer in client roster scrubbed for top-five concentration as part of the Cross-Border Structuring workstream.

The common mistake

Treating cross-border deals like US deals with extra steps. Tax, regulatory, and timing assumptions break differently.

Jason's take
"Cross-border deals need three sets of advisors at the table from day one. Bring them."
Jason Powell · Cross-Border Structuring
Capital after close

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.

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 marketing agencies target, and a Cross-Border Structuring 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.