Legal Due Diligence

Legal Due Diligence

Long-term experience of our law firm partners at a prestigious international law firm helped us to gain thorough expertise in the most complicated due diligence projects and subsequent transactions, which we can offer now to our clients for very competitive fees.

The Czech Republic offers outstanding opportunities to acquire a company in dynamic, high-potential industrial, financial and information technology sectors. Quick DD legal advisors have extensive experience in the Czech Republic and abroad, and the knowledge to assist their clients in the full range of due diligence and following transaction. Our team is prepared to guide you from the initial exploration of the possibilities for investment to the full realization of profitable, advantageously structured operations in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Central Europe.

Legal Due Diligence

Pre-Due Diligence Advisory

Is it worth it and is it feasible? That is the most fundamental question, which needs to be answered while assessing the structure of a transaction in the Czech Republic. Apart from the factual and economic reasons/factors, legal and tax factors must be always taken into account. We always try to simplify and streamline the process, so the client receives the best result as soon as possible. Following answering these questions, in particular, whether the transaction shall be in a form of an asset deal or share deal and who should be the acquirer due to the (mainly) tax reasons, it is necessary to determine a scope of the due diligence. Within the legal due diligence, it may include e.g.:

 

  • corporate legal due diligence of, among others, establishment of the target company, ownership title to the shares, internal legal documents of the target company as its memorandum of association/by-laws, resolutions of corporate bodies (typically resolutions of general meeting and supervisory board), due diligence of shares and other securities issued by the target company, and many other matters depending on the type of the target company and its corporate structure and history;

 

  • legal due diligence of real estate, including the seller’s ownership title to the real estate, issues related to land restitution claims, previous acquisition titles (typically purchase agreements), contracts for work and current entries in Land Register and Register of Pledges, legal due diligence of easements and other encumbrances on the real estate. Also, if the target company is a landlord of certain property, the due diligence usually includes a detailed review of the complete set of lease agreements incl. assessment of eventual risks and substantial limitations such as validity of lease agreements, risks or change of terms and conditions by the tenants or their potential termination;

 

  • legal due diligence of other properties depending on their type, incl. due diligence of IT/IP rights;

 

  • legal due diligence of employment and labor matters, in particular employment contracts, management agreements and collective agreements;

 

  • legal due diligence of financial documents, incl. documentation related to financing granted to the target company or provided by the target company to a third party, incl. revision of loan agreements and security instruments such as e.g. mortgage agreements, pledge agreements of any type or subordination agreements; or

 

  • legal due diligence of all material contracts concluded by the target company or related to the property to be acquired which may be e.g. property and asset management agreements, lease agreements, agreements on supply of energy (electricity/gas etc.).

Performance of Due Diligence

Following agreement on the scope of the due diligence with the client and the acquisition part of the transaction (optional) and provision of requested documentation, the Quick Due Diligence team immediately starts to investigate the target company or property which is to be acquired. Involvement of the client is usually not necessary at this stage of due diligence process as respective issues are discussed directly between the Quick Due Diligence team and the opposite party’s managers and advisors.

Due Diligence Report

Once all provided documents are reviewed, we prepare a summary due diligence report for our client describing all important information which may be ascertained from the due diligence documents with an emphasis on red flag issues and defects which should be taken into account and considered by our client whether to continue with the transaction or not. In the event we find any red flag issues, it is our goal to find a suitable recommendation to efficiently save the deal.

When drafting the due diligence report, we always pay attention to use language which is understandable, so that our clients receive our message and do not get lost in legal terms.

Resolving Issues

Our long-term experience helps us not only to identify problems, but also to find an appropriate solution to resolve them in a way that saves money and time (and the deal).

The red flag issues are usually subject to discussion with the opposite party of the transaction, we are qualified to prepare such a due diligence red flag meeting, incl. preparation of arguments and respective documentation.

If engaged by our client, we are happy to assist with respect to any remedies of issues discovered in course our due diligence.