Close · Specialty Chemicals

Specialty Chemicals Deals: Representations & Warranties Drafting Done Right

Independent sponsor counsel for specialty chemicals, focused on Representations & Warranties Drafting and the deal mechanics that protect sponsor economics and LP alignment.

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 Representations & Warranties Drafting 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 Representations & Warranties Drafting actually gets structured.

  1. Anchor on a modern PE-style rep package, not an asset-purchase boilerplate.

  2. Distinguish fundamental reps from general reps in survival and cap structures.

  3. Negotiate knowledge qualifiers to defined-person knowledge, not constructive knowledge.

  4. Coordinate the rep package with the R&W insurance carrier's underwriting.

  5. In specialty chemicals, layer in chemical inventory transfer filed as part of the Representations & Warranties Drafting workstream.

The common mistake

Drafting reps without reading the disclosure schedules. The schedules are where the risk actually lives.

Jason's take
"Reps and warranties are a risk allocation. Draft them like risk allocation."
Jason Powell · Representations & Warranties Drafting
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 specialty chemicals target, and a Representations & Warranties Drafting 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.