Chapter 8. The sale and purchase agreement

The confidentiality agreement was signed long ago, the letter of intent is a distant memory and the due diligence is over. Both parties should now be sufficiently informed to negotiate a definite acquisition agreement. In Common Law jurisdictions these agreements are fairly lengthy. The lawyers point out that they have to deal with the many eventualities which reflect the due diligence and evaluations which have proceeded it.

The party which draws up the first draft is normally at a negotiating advantage as the first draft sets the tone, style and structure of the agreement. Furthermore, there is a good chance that the other side will confine itself to criticising what is written rather than introducing ...

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