Preliminary documents

Share purchase transaction toolkit

The Share purchase transaction toolkit acts as a guide to private company sale and purchase transactions structured as a share purchase. It provides an overview of each phase of a share purchase transaction and the tasks that lawyers are required to complete as part of each phase. The toolkit includes links to checklists, precedents (with drafting notes), forms, Practice Notes and an explanation of the key drafting and negotiating points to consider in share purchase transactions.

See Practice Note: Drafting and negotiating preliminary documents in share purchase transactions (which is part of the Share purchase transaction toolkit) for a guide to this phase of a private M&A (share purchase) transaction.

Beginning the sale process

Negotiations for sale may begin in many different circumstances. Individual owners may wish to retire from or otherwise realise the value of their company. Corporate sellers may choose to market the business to potential interested parties by way of an auction process (see Practice Note: Auction sales—share purchase) or otherwise market to, and enter into negotiations with, specific interested parties. Alternatively, a potential buyer may initiate

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