CORPORATE BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

Business Purchase  -  Business Sale  -  Equipment  -  Buy-Out  -  Leasing  -  Financing  -  Amalgamation  -  Corporate Rollover

Contact Neufeld Legal PC at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com

PURCHASING A BUSINESS

As an experienced business acquisition lawyer, who has been involved in a multitude of business acquisitions, representing both sellers and buyers, I cannot stress to you the importance of retaining the appropriate legal counsel very early in the acquisition process. Far too frequently, business purchasers wait far too long before bringing in an experienced lawyer and this delay has major financial and legal ramifications to the purchasing party.

The initial costs associated with getting the appropriate lawyer involved early on are almost always quickly overtaken by the cost savings that are realized from their early involvement - whether its purging the acquisition of unnecessary components or unwanted liabilities, reducing the purchase price or how it is paid, or scuttling the deal in its entirety - the right lawyer can make a monumental difference when purchasing a business.

SELLING YOUR BUSINESS

Experience is a critical factor when selling one's business, one that cannot be taken lightly, given the value of experience on the results of your benefits divestiture. Both the legal and financial implications of your business sale are dictated in large part by whom you've chosen as your legal counsel. So as you proceed through the process of selling your business, you will greatly benefit from retaining the services of a corporate lawyer experienced in the sale of business, with their unique attributes.

BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING

Business succession planning is really about preparing your business for its future sale or transfer, enabling the business owner to exit with the highest return from your investment while having confidence in the business' continued operational success (thereby increasing the certainty of your pay-out, if so structured).

What is amazing about succession planning is how little time and preparation is often dedicated by the current ownership to its pursuit. Instead, far too many owners simply believe that the value is there and they will be able to take it when they decide to retire or pursue an alternate venture. That is rarely, if ever, the case. Effective business succession planning requires considerable preparation that should begin many years in advance of the actual departure. It transforms an operational business into a transitional business, which is tweaked and modified to obtain the most value from its disposition.

By waiting until the last minute to transition out of your business (which is a horrible plan given all the time and effort you've expended to make the operational business a success), you will in most cases be taking a massive cut in your realizable financial return. It is astonishing how much upside business owners throw away because they fail to adequate plan long in advance. Planning that is undertaken with the right team of experienced professionals (lawyers, accountants, investment advisors, business consultants), whose knowledgeable advice is implemented, pays serious financial dividends.

To understand the value of retaining the services of an experienced corporate transaction lawyer, whether buying, selling or otherwise advancing your business, contact lawyer Christopher R. Neufeld at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com or 403-400-4092 / 905-616-8864.

 

Buying a Business - Due Diligence Searches. When acquiring an existing business, there are a range of external or third-party searches that should be considered, with the particulars of the actual business playing a significant role in determining which searches should be pursued. Read more ...

 

Buying a Business - Corporate Review. When acquiring a business, in particular for a share purchase transaction, but also when undertaking an asset purchase transaction, it is important to undertake the appropriate corporate review of the selling corporation. Read more ...

 

Buying a Business - Payroll. When it comes to assessing the employee costs involved in a business acquisition, the focus is typically limited to reviewing the seller’s corporate financials and projecting those costs going forward. Nevertheless, in making that review, rarely, if ever, does the prospective purchaser scrutinize the payroll practices and pay calculations of the seller’s business. Read more ...

 

What is a Section 85 Rollover? A section 85 rollover enable a taxpayer (the transferor) to dispose of “eligible property” to a taxable Canadian corporation (the transferee), so that most, if not all, of the tax consequences which usually arise on such a disposition are shifted to the transferee corporation from the transferor. Read more ...

 

What is a Butterfly Transaction? A Butterfly Transaction, technically known as a Divisive Reorganization, is a tax-free method of dividing up assets in a corporation into separate corporate allocations, which is commonly implemented when the shareholders are seeking to go their separate ways and thus divide out the corporation’s assets. Read more ...