Acquisitions and changes of ownership

Read our tips for a successful corporate acquisition.

Corporate acquisitions can be made for many different reasons. Some will want to sell their business when retiring. For others, corporate acquisitions can be an integral part of growth strategy.

A corporate acquisition is an arrangement where a company buys another company’s shares or assets.

In an asset acquisition, a company sells all or part of its business assets, and the buyer pays the acquisition price to the seller company. As part of the transaction, the company’s customers and contractual relationships are often transferred to the buyer.

In an equity acquisition, the company’s shareholders sell the shares entitling ownership of the company to the buyer. Through the transaction, all rights and responsibilities attached to the ownership of shares, such as debts and liabilities, are transferred to the buyer.