i. Business Formation
If you are in business, you more than likely have or will need to form a corporation. There are compelling reasons for doing so as a matter of managing risk, working with investors and lenders, and from a tax perspective.
We offer comprehensive services in all facets of corporate law from the formation of federal Canadian and British Columbia companies through to their organization, financing, and shareholder agreements. Consideration is given to appropriate share capital structures in consultation with our client’s tax advisors, including the special share requirements required by professional corporations whose principals are members of regulatory bodies such as the Law Society of British Columbia or the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.
As a corporate law firm, we also provide services involving tax-related rollovers, private equity investment transactions, amalgamations and reorganizations, share capital alterations, dissolutions, restorations, business registrations, and corporate governance matters.
ii. Private Equity Investments
Getting an investor interesting in putting cash into your company is one thing; closing the deal, and negotiating the alignment of interests among all interested parties—the founders, investors, and the company—and getting to work on executing the business plan, is another.
Depending on your company’s current or proposed business, and its development stage, there are a range of matters which can be done to position the company to be fully ready when a serious expression of interest by an investor is received. Timing is vital, and no one should lose an opportunity to receive that hard-sought investment by finding out at the last-minute that gaps exist in ownership of key assets, or that assembling material for a thorough due diligence review will take longer than is reasonable.
We work with clients to get key foundation building blocks in place. And as trusted advisor, help in putting the deal together, from negotiating the term sheet through to completing the purchase of shares.
iii. Business Acquisitions & Sales
Selling a business takes time and thoughtful preparation regardless of whether the objective is an owner wanting to be in a position to maximize the sale price and terms of the sale, finding a strategic buyer to help take the company to another level, or transitioning ownership of the family-owned company to the next generation.
Likewise, a corporate acquisition has its own methodology for increasing the likelihood of a successful purchase and managing the risks inherent in the process.
One size does not fit all. Depending on the nature of the transaction, there are various ways to approaching the sale or purchase of a business which can significantly reduce costs and the time required to close a transaction.
Over the past 25 years, we have been involved in and closed numerous sales and purchase transactions involving large private equity investors, US and European public companies, large technology companies, transitioning a family-owned business to the next generation, and sales and purchases of small and medium-sized businesses.
Sophisticated business owners know the sale process starts long before putting a business into play.
There are tax considerations involved which may make a sale more efficient from a seller’s perspective, business considerations relating to how ownership of a business is structured, getting buy-in from key stakeholders to the proposed transition, and consideration of matters relating to the day after a deal is completed.