Chapter 3
Preliminary negotiations
Introduction
There is usually a long run into an acquisition during which the two sides make some ‘preliminary agreements’. Most will be agreements on how the parties will behave during the negotiations but some will make it into the final sale and purchase agreement. Most will not be binding, but some will be. To avoid being unwittingly bound by a preliminary agreement you should involve your lawyers.
The most common pre-contractual documents are the confidentiality agreement and the letter of intent and it is these that we will examine in this chapter.
The confidentiality agreement
The pre-acquisition period is a lot like the dance of the seven veils. The prospective target will slowly reveal more ...
Get Acquisition Essentials, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
