Customer Contract Assignment for Specialty Distribution Independent Sponsors
Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors managing specialty distribution transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.
An independent sponsor closing specialty distribution transactions in the $10M to $100M EV range has a defined set of moves at the Customer Contract Assignment stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.
The typical specialty distribution platform sits at $10M to $100M EV with EBITDA in the $2.5M to $18M range. The thesis runs on vertical buy-up of niche product distributors. Most distribution multiples are wrong by half a turn until the rebate accounting gets normalized.
How Customer Contract Assignment actually gets structured.
Identify contracts with anti-assignment clauses, especially in government and healthcare.
Plan the customer communication sequence to protect retention.
Map consent collection against the closing checklist, with material thresholds defined.
Address change-of-control notifications even where consent is not required.
In specialty distribution, layer in supplier reaffirmation letters before LOI signs as part of the Customer Contract Assignment workstream.
Asking every customer for consent. You alarm customers who would have been silent.
"Customer assignment is a sales motion, not a legal one. Lead with operations, follow with paper."Jason Powell · Customer Contract Assignment
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.
Related deal pages.
Independent Sponsor Economics for Specialty Distribution
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Management Fee Structuring for Specialty Distribution
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Transaction Fee Structuring for Specialty Distribution
The fee paid at closing to the independent sponsor for sourcing, structuring, and closing the platform deal a…
Working Capital Adjustments for Specialty Distribution
The closing-date true-up that protects the buyer from receiving a business stripped of normal-course working …
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Customer Contract Assignment for Specialty Distribution, 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.