Buying or selling a business is heavily dependent on exchanging information. As a buyer it is important that you know as much as possible about the business you are purchasing. Similarly, the seller will want to know all about your finances and your ability to live up to the obligations of the sales contract. The law can be heavily involved in these exchanges of information and plays a vital role in the legal documents that formalize the sale and purchase of the subject business. What is more, depending on the type of business, you may wish to buy the entire business or only the assets of the business, depending upon the information you are able to gather about the business. Ideally, you want to buy only those parts of a business that have the greatest potential benefit and the least potential risk. One advantage of buying only the assets of a business is that you avoid inheriting any of the business’s existing or future liabilities such as lawsuits by customers, employees or suppliers; violations of government regulations; and long-term contracts that are not beneficial to your business. Deciding which parts of a business to purchase, or whether to purchase the business as a whole, is a very important decision that should only be made after a thorough examination of all aspects of the business you are purchasing. This process can be daunting as it often involves careful review of hundreds if not thousands of pages of documents, many of which can be very difficult to understand. Mike assists his clients in conducting this evaluation of the business they are purchasing and advises them as to what parts of the business to purchase and any potential risk associated with the purchase. After his clients decide exactly what it is they want to purchase, Mike negotiates the terms of the purchase on his clients’ behalf, ensuring that his clients get the best possible deal without exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.
