Pre-LOI · Precision Manufacturing

Precision Manufacturing Deals: LOI Negotiation Done Right

Independent sponsor counsel for precision manufacturing, focused on LOI Negotiation and the deal mechanics that protect sponsor economics and LP alignment.

EV range $10M to $150M EV EBITDA $2.5M to $25M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

LOI Negotiation on precision manufacturing deals is one of those workstreams that looks routine on a checklist and decides outcomes in practice.

The typical precision manufacturing platform sits at $10M to $150M EV with EBITDA in the $2.5M to $25M range. The thesis runs on platform plus tuck-in machine shops or aerospace-qualified shops. Most precision manufacturing sellers will not sign an LOI without a known capital partner already named.

The moves

How LOI Negotiation actually gets structured.

  1. Cap the exclusivity at 60 days, with one 30-day extension you control.

  2. Name the earnout, the rollover percentage, and the management fee in the LOI itself, not later.

  3. Reserve QofE and rep-and-warranty insurance as buyer expenses, paid at close.

  4. Build a no-shop carve-out for inbound strategic bids above a threshold.

  5. In precision manufacturing, layer in AS9100 succession plan as a closing condition as part of the LOI Negotiation workstream.

The common mistake

Letting the seller's counsel draft the first LOI. The frame of reference sets every fight that follows.

Jason's take
"An LOI is not a non-binding nicety. It is the deal, in skeleton."
Jason Powell · LOI Negotiation
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
TALK TO JASON

An LOI on the desk, a precision manufacturing target, and a LOI Negotiation 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.