Managing the downside of an acquisition

In an acquisition, especially of assets from a company in bankruptcy, there can always be an unexpectable downside: IPR claims from suppliers, claims from mishandled clients, claims from staff, unrealistically priced work in progress, and disputed invoices. As enterpreneurs tend to prefer to look at the upsides, it is not in our natures to like to go to deep into downside scenarios. Still it may save your business life!

A due dilligence provides information to a certain level, and often depends on the willingness of (former) employees, the owner and the curator (care taker), to provide the information that can also press the purchase price down.
In the end, risks can be managed by not including supplier contracts in the deal, by talking to clients and excluding client contracts with claims, and by devising a well-wrought take-over agreement.
It is a lot of legal details. But, well worth the effort. As it increases the value of the purchased assets, and the viability of a company in case of a relaunch.
Sometimes, it is possible to effectively obtain the assets while still negotiating about the agreement details. That is more or less ideal, as it gives an operational insight in all liabilities, and the opportunity to exclude those systematically in the agreement-in-progress.