Read the article: Preparing a business transfer: handing over the reins smoothlyBusiness transfer
Preparing a business transfer: handing over the reins smoothly
Training a successor, making the team autonomous, documenting know-how, the seller's mentoring period and the employee information rules reformed in 2026: the human side of a business handover in France.
Read the article: What to do with excess cash before selling your company in FranceBusiness transfer
What to do with excess cash before selling your company in France
Pre-sale dividend, cash left in the price, or a holding-company contribution: the fate of excess cash is decided before the letter of intent, and the gap runs into tens of thousands of euros. A French chartered accountant's method.
Read the article: How to legally reduce capital gains tax when selling a French companyBusiness transfer
How to legally reduce capital gains tax when selling a French company
The 500,000-euro retirement allowance, gifting shares before the sale, contributing to a holding company: the legal levers that reduce French capital gains tax are decided before signing, not after. The 2026 picture, with numbers.
Read the article: How Much Is My Business Worth? The 3-Step CalculationBusiness transfer
How Much Is My Business Worth? The 3-Step Calculation
A profitable French SME is usually worth 4 to 7 times its adjusted EBITDA, less net debt. The three-step method to estimate your business, with sector multiples and a fully worked example.
Read the article: Valuing Parts Sociales in a French SARL: Method, Discounts and TaxBusiness transfer
Valuing Parts Sociales in a French SARL: Method, Discounts and Tax
Valuing parts sociales means moving from enterprise value to the value of a block of shares: net debt bridge, minority and illiquidity discounts, clauses in the articles and 2026 tax treatment.
Read the article: Business Value Opinion in France: Scope, Content and PriceBusiness transfer
Business Value Opinion in France: Scope, Content and Price
A valuation opinion is the short-form business valuation: a reasoned range in a few pages, from 800 EUR excluding tax. Useful to decide, not enough for a bank, a judge or the tax authorities.
Read the article: Valuing SCI Shares in France: Method, Discounts and UsufructBusiness transfer
Valuing SCI Shares in France: Method, Discounts and Usufruct
Shares in a property holding SCI are valued primarily from the restated market value of the property, less debt and shareholder current accounts, then adjusted by a documented illiquidity discount. Method, discounts, usufruct.
Read the article: Business Valuation in a Divorce or Shareholder Dispute in FranceBusiness transfer
Business Valuation in a Divorce or Shareholder Dispute in France
Divorce or shareholder dispute: how the business is valued, what article 1843-4 of the French Civil Code provides, and how to choose between one-sided, joint adversarial and court-appointed expertise.
Read the article: Due diligence data room: what the buyer demands and how they use itBusiness transfer
Due diligence data room: what the buyer demands and how they use it
The data room gathers all the documents the buyer will review during due diligence. Typical structure, sections, tools, access management and the link with the representations and warranties to secure and speed up the sale.
Read the article: Tax consolidation and LBO: conditions, benefits, Charasse ruleBusiness transfer
Tax consolidation and LBO: conditions, benefits, Charasse rule
Tax consolidation lets an acquisition holding offset the interest on its acquisition debt against the target's result. The 95% conditions, the tax leverage and the limit of the Charasse rule, explained by our firm.
Read the article: Real-estate OBO: refinancing your premises without losing themBusiness transfer
Real-estate OBO: refinancing your premises without losing them
A real-estate OBO means selling your premises to an SCI you control, financed by a loan, to free up cash while keeping the asset. Steps, tax cost and precautions against abuse of law.
Read the article: Passing on your company: which professionals to involveBusiness transfer
Passing on your company: which professionals to involve
Chartered accountant, lawyer, notary, sale adviser: who does what in a company transfer, how to coordinate the team, when to involve each one and what it costs to secure the operation.
Read the article: A serious buyer: the criteria to assess a candidateBusiness transfer
A serious buyer: the criteria to assess a candidate
Financing capacity, letter of intent, experience, motivation, guarantees: the grid of eight criteria to tell a serious buyer from a candidate who will waste your time, and the order in which to check them.
Read the article: Vendor tax due diligence in France: prepare a business sale before buyers arriveBusiness transfer
Vendor tax due diligence in France: prepare a business sale before buyers arrive
Vendor due diligence (VDD) is a seller-led tax and accounting review conducted before any buyer enters the data room. In a French business sale, it protects the sale price, limits the scope of representations and warranties (garantie d'actif et de passif), and keeps the seller in control of the financial narrative.
Read the article: Earn-out in a French business sale: structure, indicators and pitfallsBusiness transfer
Earn-out in a French business sale: structure, indicators and pitfalls
An earn-out bridges the valuation gap between seller and buyer, but a poorly structured clause creates three risks: unanticipated taxation, post-closing accounting manipulation, and a calculation dispute that can last years. Complete analysis by Cabinet Hayot Expertise, Paris.