Business Attorneys Assisting Clients in Plymouth County

At the Mehrmann Law Firm in Kingston, we have 30 years of business law experience and understand the complexities of mergers and acquisitions. Often, these transactions involve more than a transfer of property, assets, and liabilities. There may be a need for shareholder approval, negotiation of stock options, and a plan for other options for shareholders who do not approve. It may be necessary to draft contracts about what will happen to the intellectual property of each business involved. There may also be difficult decisions about the existing name or new name and about the fate of employees. When parties to these transactions cooperate, the process is more efficient. However, there are bound to be some disputes, and it is important to have a Plymouth mergers and acquisitions lawyer with experience in negotiations so that a favorable resolution can be reached.

Mergers and Acquisitions

A lot is at stake when companies decide to merge, or one company acquires another company. A merger exists if two South Shore companies combine together and form a new business. Often, a merger is a horizontal one. This means that a company merges with another company that offers similar products and services to consumers. These are mergers of competitors. However, some mergers are vertical mergers that aim to combine companies that are in the same value chain in that they are working toward producing the same good or service, but they are different in terms of their stages of production. For example, if a hardware company takes over a silicon chip factory in order to secure supply of an essential component, this might be a vertical merger.

Another type of merger is a concentric one, in which firms serve the same consumers but do not offer similar products or services. For example, if a business that makes lawn furniture merges with a company that distributes gardening products, this might be a concentric or complementary merger. This type of merger can facilitate the buying of both products. There are also conglomerate mergers, in which businesses in totally different industries decide to merge.

Quite often, however, one company acquires another company and absorbs its operations. Sometimes the acquiring company wants to control a smaller firm, and in some cases, the larger company's name can accelerate sales at the smaller company. In other cases, a larger company might hope to acquire the skills or technology of the target because it is too expensive for the acquiring company to develop the workforce or technology from scratch. The takeover may be hostile or friendly.

In some cases, the acquiring company buys the target company's assets and only those liabilities that are attached to them. The other liabilities are kept by the target company and paid off. However, in other situations, the acquiring company may be willing to take over the liabilities as well. In another type of acquisition, the acquiring company takes over the other company by buying all of its shares.

It is important to retain a mergers and acquisitions attorney in Plymouth County who understands these different types of scenarios, as well as what you hope to get out of a merger or acquisition, since your objectives can determine the structure of the deal and the paperwork that must be completed. Whether the deal is friendly or hostile will determine the legal issues that may arise on both sides.

An experienced attorney can help ensure appropriate financing and draft and negotiate contracts for the sale of the entire business or portions of the business. We can determine whether any regulatory approval is needed. It may be necessary to review the contracts of the target company, including employment contracts, debt instruments, preferred stock, or other business contracts. Furthermore, we can make sure that due diligence is conducted so that an acquiring company does not inadvertently take on a riskier company than it intended, or so that a target company meets any obligations that it may have under the law. We can also help determine tax implications and assess whether special structuring is necessary.

Seek Advice from a Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer in Plymouth County

You can obtain sophisticated legal advice and representation in connection with mergers and acquisitions without retaining an expensive in-house attorney. We are proud of providing superior legal services at a fair rate. Plymouth mergers and acquisitions attorney Michael S. Mehrmann has the experience and skills to provide comprehensive legal representation to businesses on the South Shore in both litigation and transactional matters. He represents clients in areas such as Kingston, Plymouth, Marshfield, Hanson, Carver, Pembroke, and Duxbury. Call us at (781) 585-3911 or complete our online form.