Close · Veterinary Services

Independent Sponsor Transaction Fee Structuring in Veterinary Services

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors structuring veterinary services transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $8M to $100M EV EBITDA $2M to $18M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

Every veterinary services acquisition has its own gravity. Transaction Fee Structuring is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

The typical veterinary services platform sits at $8M to $100M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $18M range. The thesis runs on general or specialty practice roll-up under an MSO. DVM retention is more valuable than equipment. Underwrite the people, then the practice.

The moves

How Transaction Fee Structuring actually gets structured.

  1. Disclose the fee in the LP commitment letter and the LPA, with no surprises at close.

  2. Set platform transaction fees at 2 to 3 percent of enterprise value, add-on fees at 1 to 2 percent.

  3. Build an LP-approval threshold above which a one-time vote is required.

  4. Treat the fee as a closing distribution, paid before working capital adjustments.

  5. In veterinary services, layer in state-by-state CPM analysis filed pre-LOI as part of the Transaction Fee Structuring workstream.

The common mistake

Hiding the transaction fee in closing costs. LPs find it, and you lose the next deal.

Jason's take
"Charge the fee. Disclose the fee. Defend the fee. The LP either funds the model or does not."
Jason Powell · Transaction Fee Structuring
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

Capital after close is where the IRR actually gets made. The right introductions at month nine through month thirty are where this practice works as hard as it does at the LOI.

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 veterinary services target, and a Transaction Fee Structuring 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.