The buying or selling of a business will be in the form of (a) an asset purchase where the buyer purchases some or all of the seller’s business assets but assumes only those seller’s liabilities that are identified in writing and agreed to by the buyer or (b) a stock purchase where the buyer purchases all or most of the seller’s stock and “steps into the shoes” of the seller, thereby assuming all of the seller’s debts and liabilities.

Bill has successfully closed over one hundred deals representing either the seller or the buyer.

Regardless of the transaction structure, any deal generally includes the following stages:

• Pre-negotiation issues conducted under a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement (determining the minimum value the seller is willing to accept and the maximum price the buyer is willing to pay; reviewing any business valuation calculation prepared by seller; and analyzing a seller’s balance sheets and profit/ loss statements).
• Preliminary negotiations between the buyer and seller (more in-depth review of seller’s tax returns; key customer contracts and any third-party consents required before a buyer can take them over; key employees to retain; approval by any governmental agency; non-compete terms, etc).
• Drafting a written purchase agreement and finalizing all deal terms.
• Closing the deal, exchanging the money, signing all of the deal documents.