Purchasing or selling a business in Clearwater, FL has the potential for many issues. Whether you are a small business or a multi-million dollar corporation, you’ll have to consider things such as due diligence and business evaluation, employment disputes, non-compete agreements, confidentiality agreements, acquisitions, mergers, contract negotiations, and tax returns. A Clearwater business attorney can help you navigate complex business transactions and take care of your best interests.

Purchasing or Selling Businesses

When buying or selling an entity, it’s critical to consult an attorney with business transaction experience and capabilities across the board. Seek an attorney that is attentive to every step of the transaction to ensure you end up with a profitable deal.
Below are the reasons why you should consult a lawyer when purchasing or selling a business.

Understanding of risks

Experienced lawyers have worked with cases regarding business law for decades. These attorneys have a thorough understanding of all facets of Florida business law that apply to purchases and sales. The legal background of a Clearwater business attorney will be critical in ensuring all transactions are above board and within the confines of the law.

Proper business evaluation

You can acquire a business by purchasing assets (e.g. existing equipment and merchandise) or stock, whereby you take over its assets and liabilities. If you are purchasing a company to merge it with your current business, additional questions regarding employees and assets have to be addressed.

An attorney helps you understand the actual value of a business by considering both its physical and liquid assets. The attorney structures due diligence, which may include verifying of patents/copyrights, cataloging inventory, reviewing business contracts, and cross-referencing bank statements and tax returns, among other things to ensure the buyer is forthright about its financial and legal standing.

A question of employees

If you are merging two businesses or purchasing it entirely, how will you handle existing employees within the company? Your Clearwater business attorney will help you understand and comply with the legal matters related to employees.

You have to determine the essential employees or officers of the company that you would want to keep. Also, it is important to decide whether purchasing the business would still make sense if some employees were not part of the transaction. Finally, are there any incentives or contracts you would need to create to retain the key employees?

Negotiations and letter of intent

When you hire a Clearwater business attorney, they will conduct due diligence review of the condition of the business you want to buy or sell. The lawyer will be looking for outstanding liabilities and obtain an accurate identification of the assets and their ownership.

After solidly identifying the business condition, your lawyer will negotiate the sale or purchase and develop a “memorandum of understanding” or “letter of intent” (LOI) to document the details of the transaction. Often, the LOI is the first step before the final business sale or purchase agreement.

Hire an Independent Business Legal Counsel

Working with an independent Clearwater business lawyer is critical in any business transaction. The attorney will draft the appropriate sale or purchase document and help you understand them before signing.

Get in touch with Eko-Law at 813-200-4743 for more information on buying or selling a business in Clearwater, FL.