Specialty Chemicals Deals: Seller Financing Done Right
Independent sponsor counsel for specialty chemicals, focused on Seller Financing and the deal mechanics that protect sponsor economics and LP alignment.
An independent sponsor closing specialty chemicals transactions in the $15M to $200M EV range has a defined set of moves at the Seller Financing 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.
How Seller Financing actually gets structured.
Anchor seller notes at 5 to 15 percent of EV, with a 4 to 6 year term.
Subordinate explicitly to senior and mezzanine debt with a clear standstill on default.
Price interest at 6 to 8 percent, with cash pay or PIK depending on the senior package.
Build prepayment optionality so refinancing flexibility is preserved.
In specialty chemicals, layer in chemical inventory transfer filed as part of the Seller Financing workstream.
Treating the seller note as a hand-shake. Sellers sue on notes more often than on equity disputes.
"A seller note is debt. Document it like debt. Service it like debt."Jason Powell · Seller Financing
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.
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Seller Financing 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.