Legal templates

Share Sale Agreements

Shares are sold for a variety of reasons quite often what a client begins to describe as a simple transfer of shares in fact becomes a sale of business, with one business partner selling out to another. Often the reason for selling shares is that one of the shareholder / directors in a company decides to leave the business. In addition to selling the shares in the company, the exiting director also wishes to get out of collateral contracts such as the lease of the premises from which the business is conducted and directors guarantees. A well drafted share sale agreement will not only effectively transfer title in the shares but also protect the rights of the party leaving the business from ongoing liabilities, and leave the remaining parties with ownership of the business assets.

Sale shares v sale of business

Selling a business may be effected by selling the shares of the company that owns the business or selling the assets of the business. A sale of the assets of the business is the most common practice.  The new owner does not need to concern themselves with the past history of the company and whether it has complied with statutory obligations or paid the right amount of tax. This guide covers the sale of shares. Sale of business assets is covered in a suite dedicated to that topic.

Share sales are characteristically evidenced by:

A Share Transfer – a simple one page document evidencing the transferor, transferee, date of transfer and consideration. It usually refers to a more complex document called an Agreement for Sale of Shares. This more complex document usually contains all the detailed terms and conditions of the sale.