Attorneys Assist with Business Acquisition in Lake City

Facilitating successful transfers of business interests

What exactly makes up a business is difficult to quantify. For that reason, buying or selling a business in Lake City is profoundly different from buying or selling a car or even a piece of real estate. Attaching a reasonable value to an existing business takes a tremendous amount of research and analysis. The factors that have a huge impact on that value may not be immediately apparent to buyers, even when the seller is not engaged in any type of active concealment. If you are considering buying or selling a business, your investment is well worth obtaining legal counsel from one of the experienced business acquisitions attorneys at Robinson, Kennon & Kendron, P.A. During their more than 100 years of combined experience, they have facilitated the transfer of various types of business interests for both buyers and sellers throughout the state of Florida.

What makes up a business?

A good business in Lake City, FL is more than the sum of its parts. This is what makes their values so difficult to quantify. While some business transactions involve little more than the physical property of a business — real estate, equipment and inventory — to get the full value of a company it is necessary to analyze the many intangibles that can come with a business as well:

In many instances, intangibles such as intellectual property, name recognition and goodwill can far exceed a business’s physical property in value. Likewise, outstanding liabilities or unresolved contractual obligations can turn a business that otherwise looks promising into a boondoggle if they are not identified prior to acquisition. Analyzing these intangible features is one of the most important functions the attorneys of Robinson, Kennon & Kendron perform during the business acquisition process.

Essential steps to buying or selling a business

While the exact process differs depending on the structure of the business acquisition, there are several steps that buyers especially must complete to ensure they avoid any unpleasant surprises upon taking over their newly acquired businesses:

• Identify the business — Buyers and sellers alike must first identify transactional partners who suit their needs. Once the buyer and seller have found each other, they must conduct initial research and analysis into their respective financial conditions and the preliminary value of the business to reach a starting point for negotiations.

• Negotiate the transaction — Negotiations, culminating in the execution of a contract, must cover a variety of issues. If the business in question has multiple stakeholders, such as a corporation, partnership or multimember LLC, Florida corporate law may require their joint approval before any sale can take place. As you can imagine, negotiating a business acquisition is complex even under the best of circumstances. It can become an exceedingly delicate operation when there are multiple stakeholders involved, each acting in his or her own self-interest.

• Conduct due diligence — Once a contract has been signed, it is wise for the buyer to conduct an exhaustive review of the acquisition’s assets, inventory, liabilities and other financials. The buyer must determine whether the facts upon which the deal was based were accurate and attempt to discover any hidden problems that might impact the value of the company.

• Complete the acquisition — Depending on the structure of the acquisition, the transfer of ownership may range from simple to highly complex. The team of experienced business attorneys at Robinson, Kennon & Kendron knows how to efficiently accomplish the necessary formalities to complete your business acquisition.

Call today to put Robinson, Kennon & Kendron to work for you

Buying or selling a business in Lake City is too important a transaction to leave to chance or guesswork. The attorneys of Robinson, Kennon & Kendron, P.A. have been assisting entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Florida with this process for years and can help you move forward with confidence. Call the firm today at 844.210.0025 or contact them online to schedule a consultation with one of their knowledgeable business lawyers.