Helping your business through change
An acquisition, merger or disposal is one of the most significant steps any company is likely to take.
Each brings about change, whether that’s through joining forces with a competitor or selling to the existing management team. While change is often positive, it’s not something businesses embark on lightly.
Those looking to grow often see a merger or acquisition as a way of pooling resources, skills, customers and finances. They can offer opportunities to diversify and expand into new markets and are also a way of changing the company’s ownership, perhaps from within.
Then there are business owners who are looking to sell up. For them, the objective will usually be a healthy return on their investment. They will be concerned about the company’s future and whether it’s in the hands of new or old management, each keen to stamp their own mark.
Whatever the motivation for the transaction, the issues and processes involved can be complex.
It helps to think of the deal as having a beginning, middle and an end. Broadly speaking that is:
- Identifying deal potential
- Agreeing terms, and
- Post-completion formalities.
The challenge for senior executives at the heart of the transaction is in staying focused through all three stages. They will need to consider financial elements like valuations, profit forecasts, liabilities and funding. They’ll also have crucial operational, management, and workforce issues to get to grips with. And all of this has to be carefully, and continually, thought through in the context of overall deal viability.
The level of detail involved, and the commitment required of individuals within the company, can be huge. That’s the same whether the business is going through its first or its tenth deal.
Company merger, acquisition and disposal lawyers
Our corporate lawyers make a difficult process easier. They work with companies every step of the way to design and implement deal strategies which get the right result.
Our team are quick and thorough, identifying opportunities and risks and working around problems threatening to stall the transaction. Clients see them as more than lawyers. They’re also project managers, navigating a deal’s twists and turns, working hard to maintain momentum and keeping attention fixed on the issues that really matter.