ABSTRACT

How can you be sure you are buying the company you think you are? Are you sure it is as good as the seller says? How can you be certain unexpected costs and obligations will not suddenly appear once you are the owner and responsible for them? How best can you arm yourself for the negotiations? Have you worked out precisely what you are going to do with it once it is yours? How do you set the priorities for change to recoup the premium you have paid for it?

The answer to all these questions, and many more, lies within a series of three comprehensive yet concise volumes by Peter Howson.

The Essentials of M&A Due Diligence, the first in the series, is a must for anyone who needs to master the essentials of due diligence with the minimum effort and in the minimum amount of time. Straightforward and unbiased, it sets out the fundamentals of pre-acquisition investigations, showing which are appropriate and why.

chapter 1|7 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|6 pages

Getting started

chapter 3|7 pages

Working with advisers

chapter 4|14 pages

Financial due diligence

chapter 5|7 pages

Legal due diligence

chapter 6|14 pages

Commercial due diligence

chapter 7|10 pages

Human resources due diligence

chapter 8|7 pages

Management due diligence

chapter 9|5 pages

Pensions due diligence

chapter 10|12 pages

Tax due diligence

chapter 11|6 pages

Environmental due diligence

chapter 12|6 pages

IT due diligence

chapter 13|4 pages

Technology due diligence

chapter 14|5 pages

Intellectual property due diligence

chapter 15|7 pages

Anti-trust due diligence