our capabilities

Selling or buying a company is a significant undertaking. Not seldom it can require most of the focus, resources, and business acumen that a buyer or seller can muster during the period of executing the transaction. Once a handshake has been made between the parties and the “pressure cooker” of the acquisition process commences, many clients will find that they get closer to their lawyer than they thought possible (or necessary).

This is a responsibility which we at Dangoor Associates do not take for granted and we understand that responsiveness, availability and speed during such a project are essential to securing the success of such a project. And while it is serious business, there are few things we enjoy more than taking clients through the acquisition process, as no two acquisitions are the same, and each one provides new opportunities for learning, creativity and growth.

Buy-outs, buy-ins, partial exits, seed round, A-round, emergency financing, compliance-induced-restructure, and countless other events all come down to changing the ownership structure of a company. Sometimes its for growth reasons, sometimes its for damage control, sometimes its something to get excited about, sometimes its just something to get through. Most of the time strictly business, but often, let’s be honest, its personal. Sometimes easy and straightforward, sometimes difficult and complex. Never trivial.

No matter what the reasons are for your adjustment of ownership structure, Dangoor Associates will help you identify your choices, support you in communicating those choices and help you deliver and execute on all the legal actions necessary to get to the end goal.

There are few more effective ways to have an impact on the world around us than by investing. Sometimes we want to increase our impact by pooling resources with others, and before you know it you find yourself running a fund. It is of course the fund managers who will ensure the success of the fund, but in setting up the fund, intelligent and interested legal advice is essential. Balancing interests between investors and managers and expressing that balance in language that makes sense. Identifying the appropriate regulatory regime and setting up the procedures necessary to ensure compliance. We help you navigate these choices and communicate them to investors.

Few things are as exciting (and exhausting) as raising capital for a project, whether new or ongoing. Whether its finding investors for a fund, a startup or a company looking to expand, or even go public, its a process that requires responsive legal advice, allowing for demands of investors to be accommodated while retaining the integrity of the company and the incentives of all parties. More often than not, the legal solution is quite straightforward, but the challenge is one of communicating. Ensuring that all parties have clarity on their rights and their undertakings, what they have gained and what they have given up, is a critical function of legal counsel in any fundraising effort.

Often debt documentation is complex, constraining and technical. Sometimes it is necessary and desirable for this to be the case. Most of the time, it isn’t. We strive to assist in debt financing with minimal fuss, on documents that are simple to understand. Sometimes the highly technical language and numerous clauses cannot be avoided, in which case we take extra care to make sure that all implications of the agreement are understood and acceptable.

Rolling out an employee incentive structure is a matter of tradeoffs. There is no perfect employee incentive structure, but we can help you identify which of the available choices is the best fit for your business; always with the ambition that we can maximise “incentive” with minimal “structure”.

There are few elements of running a business that are free from the element of negotiation. Sometimes formal and documented and antagonistic (or at least with clear opposing interests), but more often informal, relationship-based and cooperative. We assist in negotiation by providing guidance behind the scenes, or as counsel directly representing our clients, as required. We pride ourselves on our negotiation skills, based on a philosophy of combining flexibility and assertiveness, where, if it all possible, we look to preserve (end even strengthen) relationships.

We are comfortable providing advice on any commercial agreement within the framework of any ongoing business, whether it be drafting an agreement from scratch or helping our clients review proposed agreements.

Everyone faces challenges from time to time. Sometimes those challenges have a legal component, or they simply require the focused effort of a trusted advisor. Nothing is more meaningful to us than being able to help our clients in these moments, and we always do so with the utmost discretion and care.