LOI · Waste & Recycling

Earnout Structures Counsel for Waste & Recycling Acquisitions

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

EV range $12M to $150M EV EBITDA $3M to $25M Audience Buy & Sell-side
The deal context

The economics on a waste and recycling platform deal usually hinge on a handful of structural decisions. Earnout Structures is one of them.

The typical waste and recycling platform sits at $12M to $150M EV with EBITDA in the $3M to $25M range. The thesis runs on regional hauler or transfer station consolidation. Permitted volume is the asset, not the trucks. Diligence the permits before the EBITDA.

The moves

How Earnout Structures actually gets structured.

  1. Tie the earnout to gross profit or contribution margin, not revenue, to avoid sandbagging.

  2. Cap the earnout window at 24 months. Anything longer is a litigation risk.

  3. Build acceleration on a change of control or buyer-driven operational change.

  4. Name an arbitrator and the accounting standard in the agreement.

  5. In waste and recycling, layer in permit transfer applications filed before LOI signing as part of the Earnout Structures workstream.

The common mistake

Drafting the earnout in three paragraphs. Earnouts are the second-most-litigated provision in M&A.

Jason's take
"If the earnout could be measured by a teenager with a spreadsheet, you wrote it well."
Jason Powell · Earnout Structures
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
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

Earnout Structures for Waste & Recycling, 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.