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Learn to structure and communicate a good due diligence report

Drafting_for_Business_Deepa_Mookerjee.jpgIn my last post here, I listed out some points that are important for a due diligence exercise. Completing the investigation (or the due diligence) however is just half the job. The latter half – often more confusing – is to organise all the information you have collected in a structured manner and communicate it effectively to your client.

Before starting to draft, determine the type of due diligence report your client wants. Typically, though there is no formal classification, there are two types of due diligence reports.

A comprehensive due diligence report

You will come across this type more frequently. Many pages long, often going into hundreds of pages, it will contain all the information that you have found from your investigations about the company. It is usually divided into many chapters, each containing information about a specific part of the company.

Generally the chapters include:

Corporate information: This chapter contains details about all corporate matters related to the target company, including its date of incorporation, number of directors, provisions in the articles of association, corporate compliances, and key decisions of the board and the shareholders.

– Litigation: This chapter lays out the details of all the litigation pending against, and filed by, the target company and their impact on the transaction, if such litigation is decided against the target company.

– Material agreements: Here, all the material agreements that a company has with its suppliers, consumers, and retailers, are reviewed to understand the important terms of such agreements, and determine whether there are any particular clauses that will hinder the transaction.

– Human resources: Here, a broad overview is provided of the employee structure, the key employees, their terms of employment, and conditions of their contracts.

– Financial information or indebtedness: In this chapter, all information about loans or financial indebtedness of the company is reviewed, and key issues such as requirement of consents from lenders, and restrictions on transfer of shares or assets, are highlighted.

– Compliances: In this chapter, there is a detailed investigation into the registration and licenses required under law to carry on the business of the company. Information regarding all statutory compliances is found in this chapter.

– Property: Information about all property (movable and immovable), whether owned or leased by the company, and their terms and conditions, is reviewed and outlined in this chapter.

– Intellectual property law issues: This is important if the target company has registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents. All documents in relation to their registration, ownership, or assignment are analysed, to examine any restrictions present on such intellectual property rights.

– Environmental law issues: If the target company is a manufacturing, construction, or engineering company, acquirers ensure that the company is in compliance with all environmental statutes in India and does not violate any pollution standards that have been prescribed.

– Insurance law issues: This chapter outlines the insurance policies taken by the target company, to provide the acquirer with a general idea of the protection available to the target company.

Since such a report runs into many pages, a client often asks for a separate document listing key issues to accompany this report. The list of key issues is a three-or-four-page document (maybe more depending on the transaction) which only lists out the problem areas of the company and provides concrete suggestions on how to solve these problems. Remember that the client will always want a solution to the problems. It is not enough to only identify the problems in the company. As a lawyer it is your duty to provide a solution. Therefore, while drafting, take some time out to think clearly about the manner in which a particular problem can be solved, and then specify that.

An “exceptions only” due diligence reportAPCCLP_CompanyLaw-Banner

Here, a lawyer is only supposed to list out the problem areas or issues with the company. The due diligence report will have language to the effect that “everything is in order with the company except the following…”. This is a report where the client assumes that all the items are in order except those listed in the report. The only problems with the company or its operations are those identified in the report. In other words, while drafting, you will only list out the problems with the company that you have investigated. You will not spend your time stating facts about the company that are in order.

In a comprehensive due diligence report, you will provide the client with all the facts (whether they are in order or not). You will obviously identify problem areas specifically but provide a complete picture as well. In an “exceptions only” report, the client will assume everything is in order except those issues that you have mentioned. Reports like this are becoming common and clients often ask for such reports as they are more concise and much easier to plough through.

Obviously the manner in which you will draft will depend upon the type of report that your client asking for. However, there are some basic drafting points to keep in mind for any report. See the image below.

DraftingaDueDiligenceReport_DosAndDon'tsKeep these points in mind while drafting your report. While some of these seem very simple and obvious, browsing through it before starting to draft will always help refresh your memory and hold you in good stead in your career as a commercial lawyer.

(Deepa Mookerjee is part of the faculty on myLaw.net.)

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