Share Deal

In a share deal the buyer takes all of the shares (or a majority of them) in the existing company. The company itself, with its contracts, liabilities, people and permits, stays as it is; only the owners change. For the seller this is, in many DACH structures, the more favourable tax route (the German partial-income method, and possible allowances). For the buyer it means the existing contracts, customer relationships and permits continue without novation. The cost is that every known and unknown company risk comes across too, so diligence runs deeper. In the mid-market the share deal is the more common structure; see Asset Deal for the other route.