Buying and selling a business

The balance of power is key when selling your business. If your company is attractive and you have several potential buyers, then you have the leverage to reach an agreement on terms with one of the parties.

Most business owners, after years of negotiating deals with clients and suppliers, are well versed in the art of negotiation. However, when it comes to selling their own business, many can feel overwhelmed by the high stakes and uncharted territory of these complex legal minefields.

When you buy an existing business, it typically has employees. This aspect of acquiring a business may seem awkward, but in reality the company's existing staff may be the most valuable part of the deal.

Finding a business that fits one of the ten types of acquisitions is your first step to success when purchasing a company. The vast majority of business purchase transactions most often fall into one of the following categories.

For business owners planning to sell, one of the most pressing questions is: how can you make your business as attractive as possible so that you can find bidders who will offer the best price?

There are still many franchisors on the market who do not offer partners the conditions promised in presentation materials. What points of the franchise agreement should be paid special attention to before concluding it, says Ramil Beydullaev, head of the department of the Sovet Legal Group.

In 2023, the share of Russian franchises in the domestic market increased. If in their home country the situation for entrepreneurs is favorable, then in the international market it has become more difficult to open and develop a Russian business. Ramil Beydullaev, head of the franchising support practice at the Legal Group “Sovet”, spoke about how to open a franchise abroad in 2024.

Before launching a franchise network, it is worth understanding how partners can deceive you. Let's look at three situations that occur most often. Artyom Garden, partner of the Sovet Legal Group, gives recommendations on what to look for and how not to step on a rake when getting into franchising.

There are two global misconceptions: the fact that Igor Nikolaev, in his song of the same name, talks about five reasons for lost love (in fact, there are eight of them), and also that legal Due Diligence is important and needed only by the buyer and only directly in the process of an M&A transaction.

The commercial concession agreement is the main document establishing the legal relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee. It should spell out the rights and obligations of both parties, the conditions for terminating the contract, guarantees and a complete list of everything that the franchisor must provide for the franchisee to work.

The word "franchise" is associated with reliability and income security. But, unfortunately, this word sometimes hides not the most conscientious business, but in other words — a “dummy” or deceit.

Sometimes people mistakenly believe that because of the sheer volume of tips and guides on "how to sell your business", this is the most important issue business owners should be concerned about.