Close · Vertical SaaS

Representations & Warranties Drafting for Vertical SaaS Independent Sponsors

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors drafting 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 Representations & Warranties Drafting 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 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 vertical SaaS, layer in ARR bridge built before LOI signing 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.

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
TALK TO JASON

An LOI on the desk, a vertical SaaS 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.