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When you are selling a business, the document you choose to initiate the transaction is not just paperwork; it is a tactical decision that determines your leverage, your legal exposure, and the speed of your exit.
In Ontario, we often see a “tug-of-war” between three different vehicles: the Letter of Intent (LOI), the OREA Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS), and the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). Understanding when to use which is the difference between a smooth transition and a deal that falls apart after months of wasted effort.

When a business owner accepts an offer to sell their company, they often believe the purchase price written in the Offer is the exact amount that will hit their bank account on closing day.
In reality, that number is almost always a moving target until weeks or even months after the keys have been handed over.
The mechanism responsible for this is the Net Working Capital (NWC) adjustment and true-up process. Understanding how this financial machinery works before and after the closing date is critical to ensuring neither the buyer nor the seller leaves money on the table or have any confusions.

When you are entering into a share purchase agreement, it is critical to hire a business lawyer, not a general or real estate lawyer. This distinction is not academic; it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if done wrong.

Private daycares don’t win by being “just as good” as everyone else. They win by being clearly different. If you look the same, sound the same, and price the same as every other centre, enrollment becomes a race to respond faster. But when you define your niche and own it, parents don’t compare you with others, they choose you.

Commercial leases differ fundamentally from residential leases and require a higher level of scrutiny. Unlike residential tenancies, which are governed by legislation such as the Residential Tenancies Act, commercial leases are largely unregulated. The rights and obligations of both landlord and tenant are determined almost entirely by the written lease agreement.