As a business, you make acquisitions all the time. Some acquisitions are regular asset purchases; these contracts may be with suppliers, vendors, employees, independent contractors, distributors, landlords, and various other third parties. On the other hand, you may be involved in agreements for the purchase of other businesses (or their assets) or the sale of your own business; these contracts are often referred to as mergers and acquisitions.
Whatever acquisition you might be involved in, the primary goal of your contractual relations should be to ensure your agreements capture the right terms and expectations. Accurate drafting distributes the risk of your transaction and protects your interests while working with these parties.
Drafting contracts for acquisitions, negotiating their terms, and discussing ways to make parties comfortable with the deal, requires negotiation skills, understanding of the law, and the foresight to protect your business from potentially unwanted circumstances. As such, legal counsel has an important role in helping your business make contracts, sign them, and execute them, all the while helping you maintain important business relationships for future collaboration. In today’s world, written contracts (as opposed to verbal ones) are vitally important to protect your interests, placing greater emphasis on ensuring the exact written terms of your agreements benefit you, without the potential for hardship.