Buying & Selling Small Businesses
WHAT WE DO
We Help You Legally Navigate The Prospect of Buying & Selling Small Businesses
Buying or selling a business is a complex undertaking with important legal considerations. From negotiating a letter of intent to drafting a purchase agreement to conducting due diligence, there is a lot of work to be done.
Blue Maven Law is committed to getting your deals done. At its core, our mission is to help small business owners – and future small business owners – achieve their dreams of buying or selling their business while avoiding potential negative legal consequences.
Your Trusted Law Adviser
We Are With You Every Step Of The Way
Our priority is to help you understand all aspects of the transaction and ensure that you are well-informed and comfortable.
Assist in Structuring the Transaction
Drafting & Negotiating the Letter of Intent
Conducting Legal Due Diligence
(When Representing Buyers)
Assist with Production of Due Diligence Docs
(When Representing Sellers)
Drafting & Negotiating Appropriate Legal Documents
Facilitating a Smooth and Timely Closing
Due Diligence
Due diligence is the process of verifying that the business you’re considering buying is all that it’s represented to be. Due diligence is like “looking under the hood”—just as you might do when you’re buying a used car. Instead of taking the seller’s word for it, you take the vehicle for a test drive, look under the hood, and scrutinize the paint and interior. Smart buyers also take the car to a mechanic to put it up on a rack and inspect the undercarriage. We are the mechanic who helps you look under the hood, “kick the tires,” and evaluate the business with a professional eye.
Our services include lien and judgment searches, obtaining a tax clearance certificate, assistance with compliance with bulk sales laws, analyzing stock transfer records, and advice regarding sales tax on the transaction. Depending on the specific circumstances, due diligence services may include all this and more.
Documentation
Proper documentation is critical in all business acquisitions and sales. The last thing a new business owner needs is a “time bomb” ticking away in your files. Incomplete, incorrect, or inadequate documentation will eventually cause issues for the business and the resulting “explosion” could be devastating.
Proper documentation is critical in all business acquisitions and sales. Every deal — whether it is structured as an asset sale, equity sale, or merger — has a definitive agreement at the core of the legal documentation. In an asset sale, this will be the asset purchase agreement. In an equity sale, it will be the stock purchase agreement (or membership interest purchase agreement in the case of a limited liability company). In a merger, it will be the merger agreement.
Our documentation services include drafting and negotiating the appropriate purchase agreement, as well as ancillary agreements, such as a bill of sale, trademark assignment, stock powers, corporate resolutions approving the sale, officer’s certificates, and the numerous other documents that are often required to transfer ownership of a business.
PERSONALIZED LAW SERVICES FOR ENTREPRENEURS & SMALL BUSINESSES IN MISSOURI & ILLINOIS
Avoid the legal landmines and sleep well tonight.
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