FIVE THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING OR SELLING A BUSINESS By: Laurance D. Pless Following are some practical observations about buying or selling a business that every business owner should know before venturing into this often unfamiliar territory. Step One: Run the Numbers. Tax liabilities vary widely. For example, one deal structure can risk a double tax. And tying payments to certain circumstances could increase the tax rate on them significantly. “It’s Not Signed Until It’s Signed”. The first document to be agreed upon between ... Read More »
Are you Covered? Insurance In A Company Sale or Acquisition Setting
Many are the details surrounding the closing of a company sale or acquisition. Some details seem more important than others. Insurance fine points fall into a special class and deserve particular attention and care. In the hustle and bustle leading up to a closing, CEO’s and CFO’s should not succumb to a default stance of “let the insurance agents handle it.” Insurance is simply too important. Coordinating coverage at a time of transition, such as a sale, is often like fitting the pieces of an elaborate puzzle together. It takes great care ... Read More »
One of the First Things to Know When Buying or Selling a Business
Few events in business life rival the challenge and reward of buying or selling a business. Following are some practical observations about the legal landscape that every businessperson should know before venturing, as either buyer or seller, into this exciting, but often unfamiliar, territory. Below is one of the first things that every businessperson should know: 1. First, Run the Numbers. Speaking of taxes, because the tax bites of the two different structures vary widely -- an asset sale by a C corporation with its potential “double tax” ... Read More »
A Third Thing to Know When You are Buying or Selling a Business
In earlier blogs we started our list of Things Every Businessperson Should Know Before Buying or Selling a Business. That first item was “No Pig in a Poke” and the second item was “Power of the Pen”. Here is the third one to keep in mind: 3. Separating Wheat from Chaff. Fundamentally, acquisitions take the form of either a stock sale (either directly or by merger) or an asset sale. And fundamentally, the seller receives either cash or property (i.e., stock), or some combination. Everything else is a variation -- sometimes complex -- on one ... Read More »