Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement
What is the Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement section? All businesses possess information that is beneficial to them because it is not known by the public (e.g. customer lists, trade secrets, etc.). Prior to the Closing, the Seller protects that information by requiring the Buyer to keep non-public information confidential. Post-Closing, the Buyer wants to place a similar confidentiality requirement on the Seller, and this covenant is used to accomplish that goal.
The Middle Ground: This covenant requires the Seller, its Affiliates, and its Representatives to use their reasonable best efforts post-Closing to keep confidential all information about the Business that is not otherwise publicly available. It also requires the Seller to take certain precautions if it is required by law to disclose the information, such as only providing information it is legally required to provide (as advised by legal counsel) and taking steps to limit who is able to access the confidential information that is disclosed. The parties also agree not to make negative or disparaging comments about each other to third parties.
Purpose: This covenant is intended to protect the value of the Business after the transfer of ownership has occurred by protecting the confidential information of the Business. For a serial buyer such as a private equity firm, it also protects future deals by preventing the Seller from providing potential future sellers with information about terms the Buyer is willing to accept and/or the Buyer’s negotiation strategies.
Buyer Preference: The Buyer wants to pay close attention to the definitions of Affiliates and Representatives to ensure that everyone who has access to the information sought to be protected has a duty of confidentiality with regard to that information. If the sale was initially conducted by auction, expansive definitions of Affiliates and Representatives may not adequately protect the Buyer’s risk, so the Buyer can have the Seller assign the confidentiality agreements signed by the other auction participants to protect the Business’s sensitive information. The Buyer also wants to be able to enforce this covenant using an injunction rather than indemnification, because preventing a violation is more valuable than receiving monetary compensation after one has occurred. To achieve that goal, the Buyer should explicitly carve out this covenant from the Exclusive Remedies provision.
Seller Preference: The Seller may want to include language indicating that the Buyer’s confidentiality obligations (often originating in the Letter of Intent) apply to information disclosed pursuant to the Agreement and that the Buyer’s confidentiality obligations survive termination of the Agreement. Essentially, such language provides protection for the Seller if the deal does not go through. The Seller will also pay attention to the scope of the disclosure restrictions so it can avoid being penalized for sharing information that doesn’t have the potential to hurt the Business or the Buyer.
Differences in a Stock Sale Transaction Structure: None.
