We serve as go-to outside counsel for multiple franchisor brands looking for assistance to guide existing franchisees on resales. The Franchise Agreement governs franchisee responsibility upon transfer of the franchise. We carefully navigate the transaction ensuring compliance with the franchise agreement and providing a cost-efficient solution for franchisees looking to sell their business to a willing buyer.
Franchisor Acquisitions
Our goal as franchisor counsel is to serve our clients from startup to exit. We routinely serve as counsel to franchisors we launch and other franchise founders as well as private equity buyers of franchise systems. Our team provides support on the franchise-side in franchisor asset and stock purchase transactions and we also spearhead deals that result in transfers of control of franchise brands. Our franchise M&A team recently represented a 100-unit franchise brand in a complete acquisition by a New York-based private equity firm in an all-cash deal but we also understand that creativity and time-efficiency are the keys to getting to a close in most franchise acquisition transactions.
Drafting and Negotiating Entity Agreements
Our franchise team members have served as in-house counsel to franchise brands and have engaged in multiple internal transactions involving partners and capital injections. We routinely draft LLC Operating Agreements, Subscription and Joinder Agreements, Corporate By-laws, Shareholder Agreements, Management Agreements, License Agreements, Vendor Agreements and any agreements that a franchise system would require.
Franchisee Services
We negotiate franchise agreement terms for franchisees, franchisee multi-unit developers, and private equity backed franchise investors. This would normally be accomplished through drafting an addendum or side agreement signed in conjunction with the standard-form franchise agreement.
