Capital raise · Waste & Recycling

Independent Sponsor Management Fee Structuring in Waste & Recycling

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 Independent Sponsor
The deal context

Every waste and recycling acquisition has its own gravity. Management Fee Structuring is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

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 Management Fee Structuring actually gets structured.

  1. Set the fee at 2 percent of invested capital, stepping to 1.5 percent after year three.

  2. Carve out portfolio-company services so add-on diligence is reimbursable.

  3. Allow accrual if cash flow does not support payment, with later cash catch-up.

  4. Make the fee subordinate to debt service, not to LP preferred return.

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

The common mistake

Pricing the fee on enterprise value instead of invested capital. EV-based fees punish you on the first add-on.

Jason's take
"The management fee pays for the firm. Underprice it and you will run a hobby, not a platform."
Jason Powell · Management Fee Structuring
Capital after close

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

Refinancing, recaps, growth rounds, and the right strategic conversation eighteen months early are all downstream of relationships that take years to build and minutes to use.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

Management Fee Structuring 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.