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Due Diligence

M&A: Why should a buyer conduct due diligence?

If you want to acquire a business or a company, should you conduct due diligence on the target? “Buyer beware” or “𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘳” in Latin is a common law principle that a buyer buys at his own risk in the absence of an express warranty in the contract. Due to …

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Linkedin Post

M&A from the purchaser’s perspective: Obligations and liabilities

In an M&A transaction, the purchaser should consider whether any of the following obligations and liabilities are relevant to its acquisition: 1. Where the target has obtained financing facilities which are secured by guarantee provided by the seller in favour of financial institutions, is the purchaser required to step in …

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Linkedin Post

M&A: Retention of promoters or founders post acquisition

In an M&A transaction, it is common to retain promoters or founders who are instrumental to the success of a target company after the acquisition. The SPA typically provides for employment agreements or service contracts to be entered into between the target company and the promoters or founders on terms …

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Linkedin Post

M&A: Asset sale and purchase

One of the advantages of asset sale and purchase compared to share sale and purchase is that a buyer gets to choose specifically the assets and liabilities which the buyer wants to acquire while leaving the rest with the selling company. Depending on the assets being acquired, the transfer of …

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Company Law

Ten most viewed posts in 2022

My name is Mei Ying (美瑛). Wong (黄) is my surname. I am a corporate lawyer with focus in the M&A and equity capital markets practice areas. Through my Linkedin posts, I share the insights I gain from my work, what I learn from my reading, and my observations about …

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Lawyering

Formatting in legal work

While reviewing a lengthy document consisting of tables spanning just short of 100 pages, I pointed out to my team member that some of the columns in the middle of the document appeared not to be aligned with the preceding columns. I was told that the columns should be aligned, …

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Due Diligence

M&A: How can a buyer address issues discovered during the due diligence

In an M&A transaction, how can a buyer address issues discovered during the due diligence conducted on the target? There are a few ways to address an issue: 1. Get an indemnity from the seller. 2. Reduce purchase consideration. 3. Carve-out or ring fence the risk and liability arising from …

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Contracts

M&A: Key points to look out for in contracts entered by target companies

In an M&A transaction, it is important for a buyer to understand the contractual rights and obligations binding the target company under the contracts entered by the target company. However, the contracts may be voluminous and it is easy to get drowned in the details. Some key points to look …

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Lawyering

All in a day’s work for a corporate lawyer

Closing an M&A transaction, finalising agreements for execution and working on a fund raising exercise. All happening at the same time. I couldn’t put my life on pause while I am running corporate exercises. It means driving hundreds of km back to hometown when a family member requires medical attention. …

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Lawyering

The ups and downs of being an M&A lawyer

I didn’t seek out to be an M&A lawyer. It is a part of my work and I find myself gravitate towards this practice area more than other corporate work that I have done: What I like being an M&A lawyer: 1. The work is (usually) intellectually stimulating. See last …

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