Pre-LOI · Specialty Chemicals

LOI Negotiation for Specialty Chemicals Independent Sponsors

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors negotiating specialty chemicals transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $15M to $200M EV EBITDA $3M to $28M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

An independent sponsor closing specialty chemicals transactions in the $15M to $200M EV range has a defined set of moves at the LOI Negotiation stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.

The typical specialty chemicals platform sits at $15M to $200M EV with EBITDA in the $3M to $28M range. The thesis runs on niche formulator or contract manufacturing buy-up. The IP lives in the formulator's head as often as in the company. Structure for that risk explicitly.

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 specialty chemicals, layer in chemical inventory transfer filed 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.

The capital that opens up post-close, from refinancing to growth equity to strategic exit, runs through a small set of Wall Street relationships. That network is built in.

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

LOI Negotiation for Specialty Chemicals, 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.