When the buyer examines everything.
WHAT THEY EXAMINE
Financial records and their reliability Tax compliance Corporate documents and registers Customer contracts and concentration Supplier arrangements Employment arrangements and liabilities Assets and their ownership Intellectual property Licences and approvals Litigation and disputes Regulatory compliance
WHAT COMMONLY CAUSES PROBLEMS
Records that do not reconcile Unremitted statutory deductions Undocumented arrangements Intellectual property not assigned Assets not owned by the company Employment obligations unmet Licences that do not transfer
WHY LICENCE TRANSFERABILITY MATTERS
A business dependent on a licence that cannot transfer may not be saleable at all.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH EARLY
Whether your licences and approvals transfer, and how.
WHAT TO DO BEFORE DILIGENCE BEGINS
Conduct your own review, and fix what you find.
WHY
Problems you disclose are manageable; problems discovered change the price or end the deal.
WHAT TO DISCLOSE
Everything material, early and voluntarily.
WHY VOLUNTARILY
Concealment discovered destroys trust and frequently the transaction.
WHAT TO PREPARE
An organised set of documents.
WHY ORGANISED
Disorganisation suggests how the business is run.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Questions that feel intrusive, and a process taking months.
WHAT TO MAINTAIN THROUGHOUT
The business itself.
WHY
Performance declining during diligence reduces the price.
WHAT TO ARRANGE
Legal and accounting support.
