When a third party could influence your sale

Depending on the content of those contracts, if you come to the point of negotiating a sale, customers and suppliers may have grounds to stall or prejudice the transaction.

The presence of ‘change of control’ and ‘confidentiality’ clauses in these contracts can present difficulties for various reasons.

A confidentiality clause will sometimes prevent the disclosure of confidential information as well as the existence and terms of that contract.

The presence of these clauses will present a difficult decision for sellers. Do they: negotiate at the outset? Seek waivers and consents when they need to? Account for issues that may arise in the sales and purchase agreement? Or do they simply ignore these issues and hope for the best? We encourage businesses to negotiate and deal with contracts head on in order to identify issues.This is because the opportunity to sell may not be apparent and could arise at any time, while the benefits of a well drafted contract will undoubtedly benefit the business in any case.