Preliminary outlines of proposed M&A deals—whether called letters of intent (LOIs), term sheets or memoranda of understanding (MOUs)—allow parties to sketch out fundamental terms quickly before expending substantial resources on negotiating definitive agreements, finalizing due diligence, pursuing third-party approvals and other matters. M&A letters of intent appear simple (they aren’t) and as something that can be advanced without lawyers (they shouldn’t […]
Category Archives: Pre-Signing
What you need to know about M&A confidentiality agreements
Most M&A transactions are material to the parties involved, and public disclosure that a deal is in the offing can have profound effects on a company’s operations, ranging from employee attrition to loss of confidence by commercial counterparties. Of course, for public companies, exploration of strategic alternatives may constitute material nonpublic information implicating Regulation FD (which […]
What are the main features of public company M&A?
A few years ago, I gave a training webinar on public company M&A with my close friend Roger W. Bivans, a Partner with Baker & McKenzie in Dallas. This offers a fairly comprehensive treatment of the subject. However, it hasn’t been updated to reflect any changes in the law since its original publication date so be careful […]