Is Your Startup Getting Purchased? Contact a Business Lawyer Right Away

By Business

This a familiar situation to some. As a young startup, you have made a big splash in your industry, fully established your business as a series llc, and have been angling towards an acquisition by a bigger company. Thankfully, that day has come and a bigger company is seriously considering buying you. Have you set up a great legal team who can keep your best interests in mind? If not, you need to make sure you find a business lawyer who can best represent you and provide professional corporate litigation services.

Startup Contracts May Be Very Complex

As a startup, you probably already have several contracts that affect how you operate. For example, you may have multiple deals with vendors and material providers that help dictate how you run. These contracts follow complex laws and must be carefully created to avoid problems during a buyout.

For example, you need to talk with your contractors to ensure that they understand what is happening to you. They are likely going to be concerned about what is happening and need your reassurance. Some might want to change or even break your contract if they feel uncomfortable about this change.

Why are they so concerned? Well, they want to make sure that the acquisition doesn’t affect their livelihood. While you might have a verbal agreement with the buying company, there’s nothing that says they might not try to change the terms when writing a physical contract with you.

Acquisitions are complex in this way and many companies may find themselves in a rough situation after a buyout. For example, your buying company may want to take more control of you and your finances and may even end contracts with long-term partners and cause serious conflict.

This situation can be very scary, and you might feel that you have no choice but to go with the terms of the buyout. That doesn’t have to be the case if you have a legal team fighting for you. Even major corporations must follow business laws and the contracts they set when buying out startups like you.

Why Lawyers are So Important

If you’re getting bought out, and you want to protect your rights and those of your contractors, it is vital to talk to a legal team right away. Lawyers can help you identify different ways that you can protect yourself and your team and will do whatever they can to ensure that you are satisfied. They can:

  • Verify the terms of your contract and explain them to you
  • Fight for your legal rights and help you retain control
  • Protect the needs of your contractors and partners
  • End a contract if it doesn’t suit your needs and operation
  • Minimize the risk of conflict with your buying company
  • Create clauses that protect you during the buyout process
  • Provide a go-between for you and the buying company
  • Give you a better understanding of what may happen during a buyout

It’s true that the company buying you out is probably going to have a big legal team looking out for their needs. That’s why it is even more important to find a group that will fight for you. Doing so can minimize your potential financial loss and protect your rights for years to come.

If you don’t protect yourself with the best business lawyer Bellevue-based has to offer, a company buying you out could take advantage of you and bully you out of existence. While you might get a good payout when they buy, it’s worth nothing if your company disappears and your employees lose their livelihood. Avoid this problem by working with a team that will fight for your rights.