In any merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction, the seller’s senior management team is charged with maximizing the price and terms available to the shareholders of the selling company. Taking their direction from the Board of Directors—and with the assistance of the selling company’s legal and financial advisers—the senior management team is instrumental in landing and negotiating a deal that’s in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
If they are to continue on with the buyer, the members of the management team will also naturally have a number of questions as to how the buyer will treat the team post-closing with respect to compensation and employment incentive arrangements. Some of these questions will vary if the buyer is a private equity fund versus a strategic buyer. However, in order to avoid a potential conflict of interest claim, members of the management should be sensitive to the issue of when to ask some of their questions.
The management team should be aware of the key issues that will arise in attempting to get to a successful completion of an M&A deal.
