Depending on the nature and size of the business you’re interested in buying, the process of completing due diligence can be straightforward or complex. Fortunately, the basic steps you’ll need to follow are rather standard.
After your lawyer has negotiated a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the seller – covering each party’s duties and responsibilities involving confidentiality, exclusivity and other matters – you’ll be ready to begin the due diligence phase of possibly buying the company.
The Main Reasons for Performing Financial Due Diligence
This process is partially designed to help determine if the initial evaluation placed on the business is fair and if the company is both stable and viable. Time must also be set aside to review all current contracts and potential legal and regulatory liabilities.
Some of the specific aspects of the business you’ll want your Houston business law attorney and personal accountants to carefully review and examine are set forth below.
- All accounts receivable and payable
- At least the last three years of the company’s tax filings
- All current payroll obligations
- Most or all the major banking transactions for the past year or more
- The full nature and extent of any outstanding loans on the books
As this initial list of matters indicates, this process can take many months with some businesses. Normally, the parties negotiate the timetable for completing all due diligence examinations in their Letter of Intent (LOI).
Special Inquiries You Must Include Regarding Other Financial Matters
Hopefully, your review of all the financial accounts won’t turn up any troubling questions that can’t be answered. However, since a small percentage of business sellers may be dishonest, your due diligence team must carefully watch out for certain types of “red flags” or irregularities. These can include some of the following concerns.
- Missing funds
- References to non-existing accounts
- Improperly filed tax returns
- A varying degree of bad debt that’s regularly written off
- Unstable profit margins
Your lawyer’s due diligence inquiry must also include carefully reviewing all current contracts with other businesses or corporations.
Key Concerns Involving Executory Contracts
- When are they each due to expire? (This is important since this information can affect the company’s current valuation and other issues). For example, if current supplier contracts are ending soon, you may soon find yourself having to pay far more for critical supplies;
- What’s the status of all customer contracts? You need to be sure all funds owed to the company are being collected regularly and all goods and services promised are being delivered in a timely manner. Failure to carefully monitor all contract terms can cost you valuable customers and open you up to major legal liabilities;
- Are all Service contracts being carefully monitored? Nearly every business is dependent on outside service vendors to keep their manufacturing and other equipment working properly. Likewise, contracts are often in place to secure the professional services of lawyers, accountants, computer repair technicians and others. You must make sure the company is properly honoring all these contracts and renegotiating them in a timely and responsible manner;
- Are all current leases being properly maintained? Companies can’t afford to accidentally let leases lapse on buildings or other property that are essential to their daily operations.
- Employee Agreements? Do current employees have employment agreements with non-compete clauses? These must be carefully examined because they cannot be assigned if you are only buying the assets.
Due diligence can also extend beyond merely reviewing key financial documents and contracts. It should also include a detailed review of all actual or threatened litigation and regulatory investigations.
Your Lawyers Must Review All Current or Likely Lawsuits & Regulatory Challenges
Each of the following issues must be examined regarding all current or anticipated litigation. They may prove crucial if you decide to still buy a specific company since you’ll probably need to request contractual indemnity for all future liability (and litigation expenses).
- How costly might each case eventually prove to be? In other words, what potential liabilities are involved?
- Has the business received formal notice that any of its operations may be operating in conflict with any state or federal statutes or regulations?
You must be willing to sit down with your lawyer and the target company’s current legal counsel to sort through all these legal and regulatory concerns since they directly bear on the business’ current valuation and the wisdom or folly of buying it.
While the due diligence concerns referenced above are not intended to be fully comprehensive, they should help you understand many of the critical matters that must be examined. Once you make it through this due diligence stage, you can then either decline to buy the company or move forward into the “closing” or final transactions phase.
Please feel free to contact our law office so we can help guide you through the various stages of due diligence as you try to decide whether you should buy a specific company.