Undisclosed shareholder loans can become post-merger liabilities, creating unexpected financial exposure for buyers. This blog explores a real M&A case where a founder’s unrecorded loan led to legal disputes after a merger. Learn how courts interpret implied repayment obligations, why…
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Undisclosed Founder Loan Leads to Post-Merger Liability
Posted in Problems with Undisclosed Liabilities Tagged with: Acquisition Agreements, asset vs. stock purchase, balance sheet risks, Business acquisitions, business law, corporate finance, deal structuring, due diligence, founder loans, implied contracts, legal pitfalls in M&A, M&A Disputes, M&A litigation, merger liabilities, New York M&A Cases, post-closing risks, private company M&A, shareholder loans, startup funding, undisclosed liabilities
Recent Posts
- Pennsylvania’s Broad Approach to Successor Liability in De Facto Mergers
- Why Delaware’s Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Is Not Enough Protection for an Earnout
- When Does an M&A Indemnification Claim Accrue? The Difference Between First-Party and Third-Party Claims
- Earnouts and the Importance of Key Employee Retention
- Undisclosed Founder Loan Leads to Post-Merger Liability
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- boot
- boot
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- business cards
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- closing
- co-author
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- common interest doctrine
- compliance with all applicable laws
- conditions to closing for buyer's benefit
- consent to assignment
- consent to assignment
- constructive knowledge
- constructive knowledge
- continuity of enterprise exception
- continuity of ownership
- contracts
- contravene strong state public policy
- controlling shareholder fiduciary duty M&A
- copyrights
- corporate overhead
- covenant not to compete
- Covenants
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- customer list
- customer list
- damages
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- deferred closing
- Delaware
- deliberate fraud carveout
- denial of consent must be reasonable
- dental practice sale
- Description of business assets purchased
- determination of purchase price adjustment
- diminuation of value
- direct
- director and officer duty of care
- director liability
- directors and officers insurance policy
- discharge in bankruptcy
- disclosure schedule
- discounted cash flow or DCF
- dispute resolution procedure
- dispute resolution provision
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- due diligence
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- Duty to Defend
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- earn out dispute procedure
- earn outs
- earnout
- earnout as ownership interest in buyer
- EBITDA
- EBITDA
- economic loss doctrine
- employment agreement
- employment agreement
- enforce against nonparty
- enforceability of non-owner noncompete
- entire fairness
- environment representations and warranties
- environmental
- environmental problems
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- escrow
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- excluded or retained liabilites
- exclusive remedy
- exclusivity provision
- excuse for untimely indemnification claim
- executory contracts
- Express efforts clause vs. Delaware's implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
- extension by contract in Delaware
- extension of closing
- extra-contractual fraud
- F reorganization
- failure to make timely purchase price payment
- fair insider deal
- Family and Medical Leave Act
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- federal employer liability
- federal employment discrimination liability
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- federal securities fraud
- federal wage and hour violations
- fee based upon buyer debt assumption
- financial representation and warranty
- financing acquisition issues
- financing contingency
- for cause termination
- force majeure
- foreign income tax
- form over substance
- forum non conveniens doctrine
- forum selection clause
- franchise sale
- fraud
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- fraud in business sale
- fraud in the inducement exception
- fraudulent concealment
- fraudulent inducement
- fraudulent intent
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- full disclosure rep
- full disclosure rep
- further assurance provision
- further assurance provision
- governmental approval
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- Guaranty
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- handshake redemption obligation
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- hiring seller's employees
- implied assumption of seller contract/liability
- implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
- implied duty of good faith and fair dealing
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- indemnification
- indemnification cap
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- independent trustee
- inequitable
- insider
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- insurance coverage
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- mutual mistake
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- New York
- no kickback or bribe rep
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- No Undisclosed Liabilities
- non-reliance clause
- nonbinding
- nonbusiness income
- nonbusiness income/sale of subsidiary
- noncompete area
- noncompetition covenant
- noncompetition covenant term
- nondischargeable debt in bankruptcy
- nondisclosure agreement
- nondisclosure provision
- nonqualified preferred stock
- nonsolicitation of employees and customers
- nonsolicitation of former customers
- note payment amount adjustment
- notice
- notice provision
- objection -reasonable detail
- officer duty of care
- offset or setoff provision
- offset right
- One class of stock
- oral contract
- oral copyright agreement
- overly complicated language in contract
- owner liability for company breach of financing deal
- Ownership of Target Law Firm File
- parol evidence rule
- patents
- payroll tax
- percentage of purchase price
- permits and certificates
- personal goodwill
- personal guaranty
- personal guaranty of company debt by selling shareholder
- personal guaranty of lease
- Personal Name
- photo or image
- piercing veil of acquisition subsidiary
- post asset purchase issues
- post closing covenants
- post signing asset valuation
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- PPP loan
- PPP loan assumption
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- pre-closing sales tax
- preservation of due diligence materials
- prior-material-breach doctrine
- private equity
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- problems with forum selection clauses
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- problems with pensions
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- Problems with post-closing management of business
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- Problems with Real Estate Leases
- problems with receivables
- problems with regulatory industry acquisitions
- Problems with sale of auto dealerships
- problems with seller nondisclosure
- problems with seller's employees
- problems with seller's lender
- Problems with seller's pre-closing errors & omissions
- Problems with seller's projections
- problems with seller's real property
- problems with seller's unemployment insurance experience rating
- problems with sharing tax benefits
- problems with subordination rights
- problems with successor liability
- problems with survival provisions
- problems with taxes
- Problems with typos
- Problems with Undisclosed Liabilities
- product line exception
- projections
- projections
- promissory estoppel
- promissory note
- prudence
- public information exclusion
- punitive damages
- purchase agreement
- purchase price
- purchase price adjustment
- purchase price reduction
- quality of earnings assessment
- ratifying unassumed contract by post-closing action
- reasonably equivalent value
- receipt of buyer equity or security
- receipt of buyer equity or security
- receivables
- recoupment doctrine
- reformation
- reformation of contract
- reliance
- remote use of trademark out of territory
- representation and warranty about customers
- representations and warranties
- rescission
- rescission
- restrictive post-closing covenants
- retaliation
- retention bonus
- revenue and profit projections
- reverse termination or breakup fee
- Revlon doctrine
- Right of publicity
- risk of post closing payments
- royalty
- S corporation
- sale leaseback
- sale of assets of business
- sale of business to ESOP
- sale of product line
- sales order
- sales tax
- sales tax imposed on equity sale of DRE
- sales tax risk
- SBA approval re PPP loan
- scienter
- Section 1377 election
- Section 363 sale
- securing buyer's note
- securing deferred purchase price
- security agreement
- seller carried purchase price
- seller knowledge
- seller owner responsibility for underreported sales tax
- seller owners equity interest in buyer
- seller ownership in buyer
- seller rep of no federal employer liability
- seller's age discrimination claims
- seller's covenants
- seller's federal injunctions
- seller's unemployment experience rating
- seller's warranty claims
- seller's workers compensation experience rating
- Selling shareholders problem with their board of directors
- severance benefits
- sexual harassment
- shareholder approval of deal
- shareholder buyout of partner
- shareholder personal guaranty of target lease
- shareholder release
- sharing transaction tax deduction benefits
- sick time
- signing LOI with revisions by signer
- specific performance
- state and local tax
- state approval of nonprofit hospital
- state franchise/income tax
- statute of frauds
- statute of limitations
- stay bonus
- step-down provision
- stock purchase agreement
- stock sale
- strategic acquisition
- strategic acquisition
- structure of transaction
- subordination
- substance over form
- substantially all assets
- success fee
- successor liability
- sufficiency of assets rep
- supply problems
- survival of covenants
- survival of reps and warranties
- survival period commencement
- tangible net worth
- target's stock options
- tax
- tax benefit sharing
- tax deferred reorganization
- tax penalties and additions
- Taxation
- termination of M&A agreement
- termination or breakup fee
- third party
- third party beneficiary clause
- time of the essence
- timely objection to indemnification claim
- tolling
- tolling
- tort misrepresentation in M&A
- tortious interference with prospective economic advantage
- trade secret misappropriation
- trade secret misappropriation by former seller employee
- trademark infringement
- trademarks
- transferee liability for taxes IRC Section 6901
- TRO/preliminary injunction before filing for arbitration
- tying fraud to economic loss
- typo or scriverner's error
- UCC search
- Uncategorized
- Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act or Uniform Voidable Transfer Act
- union fringe benefits
- union liabilities
- unitary business
- unjust enrichment
- unliquidated or disputed claim
- unwanted assets
- vacation time
- valuation
- waiver of contractual provision
- waiver of jury trial
- waiver of removal to federal court
- waiver provision
- willful breach carveout
- willing buyer or procuring cause
- Withholding Post-closing payments
- working capital adjustment
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