Pre-close · Vertical SaaS

Customer Contract Assignment for Vertical SaaS Independent Sponsors

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors managing vertical SaaS transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $10M to $200M EV EBITDA $2M to $30M (or run-rate ARR) Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

An independent sponsor closing vertical SaaS transactions in the $10M to $200M 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 vertical SaaS platform sits at $10M to $200M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $30M (or run-rate ARR) range. The thesis runs on platform plus adjacent module acquisitions inside a single end-market. The ARR number on the CIM is rarely the ARR number on the closing balance sheet. Reconcile early.

The moves

How Customer Contract Assignment actually gets structured.

  1. Identify contracts with anti-assignment clauses, especially in government and healthcare.

  2. Plan the customer communication sequence to protect retention.

  3. Map consent collection against the closing checklist, with material thresholds defined.

  4. Address change-of-control notifications even where consent is not required.

  5. In vertical SaaS, layer in ARR bridge built before LOI signing as part of the Customer Contract Assignment workstream.

The common mistake

Asking every customer for consent. You alarm customers who would have been silent.

Jason's take
"Customer assignment is a sales motion, not a legal one. Lead with operations, follow with paper."
Jason Powell · Customer Contract Assignment
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
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

Customer Contract Assignment for Vertical SaaS, 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.