Private Company Acquisitions: Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception

This CLE course will examine the game-changing role the fraud exception could play in private target M&A agreements, focusing on contouring limitations on indemnification and other remedies based on fraud claims.

Could one party's optimism be another party's fraud? High profile busted deals remind us that, when fraud looms, all bets are off on those otherwise carefully crafted contractual provisions so typical in M&A deals.

In particular, for private equity and venture capital sellers, thoughtful limitations on liability could make the difference between a "good deal" and a "not-worth-it deal." For buyers, it could mean the difference between being a "visionary CEO"--or a "hapless CEO."

Our panel of seasoned M&A attorneys will illustrate the role of the fraud exception in private company acquisitions, highlighting negotiation and drafting strategies to help you deftly put the genie back into the 11th-hour bottle.

Listen as our panel discusses critical considerations when drafting a fraud exception to an indemnification provision, strategies that can be implemented for the seller or buyer when negotiating the fraud exception, and ways to juggle competing interests of multiple selling stockholders (e.g., lead vs. coattail investors).