WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Kanton Bern - Purchase / sale of a company

Various forms of company takeover are possible:

Sale of shares (traditional)
Merger: statutory merger, asset merger or quasi merger
Joint Venture
Management buyout or leveraged buyout
Purchase of assets and liabilities
Auction
Public takeover bid: friendly or unfriendly takeover

The first 5 points are possibilities for SMEs, the last two points are more applicable to larger companies (publicly owned companies).

The Berne Economic Development Agency assists the purchase or sale indirectly through advisory services, mediation and coaching, carried out by the partners in the BEDA network and, in exceptional cases, with financial and fiscal means.

Opportunities, risks Strengths, weaknesses	Initiating contact and negotiations	Integration planning (Synchronous information)

Strategy	Due diligence Evaluation Contract	Measures (Strategic/ operative/ organisational/ administrative/ cultural)

Definition of acquisition criteria	Execution and information: (employees, customers, suppliers, general public)	Measurement of results(financial control/ synergies)

Identification of the advantages and disadvantages with regard to:

Synergy effect Core business Integration costs	Declaration of intent Competition Financing Communication	Diligence Sequence Information Control