Close · Waste & Recycling

Seller Financing for Waste & Recycling Independent Sponsors

When the deal is waste and recycling and the question is Seller Financing, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.

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

Seller Financing on waste and recycling deals is one of those workstreams that looks routine on a checklist and decides outcomes in practice.

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 Seller Financing actually gets structured.

  1. Anchor seller notes at 5 to 15 percent of EV, with a 4 to 6 year term.

  2. Subordinate explicitly to senior and mezzanine debt with a clear standstill on default.

  3. Price interest at 6 to 8 percent, with cash pay or PIK depending on the senior package.

  4. Build prepayment optionality so refinancing flexibility is preserved.

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

The common mistake

Treating the seller note as a hand-shake. Sellers sue on notes more often than on equity disputes.

Jason's take
"A seller note is debt. Document it like debt. Service it like debt."
Jason Powell · Seller Financing
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

Seller Financing 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.