Transactions · Australian business guide

Buying or Selling a Business

Choose share sale or asset sale, investigate the target, allocate liabilities and make completion mechanics work in the real world.

Decision path

  1. 01

    Choose the deal perimeter

    Decide whether shares, assets, contracts, employees and IP are transferring.

  2. 02

    Run due diligence

    Verify ownership, liabilities, registrations, disputes and change-of-control risks.

  3. 03

    Control completion

    Coordinate conditions, consents, adjustments, releases and handover.

Selected reading

Get the facts before choosing the document.

These are the strongest starting points for this topic. Use the official sources for the current rule, then scope legal work against your facts.

Share sale vs asset saleQuestions before buying

Primary sources

Source links checked 20 July 2026. Confirm the current rule before acting.

Legal work that may follow

Turn the decision into usable documents and advice.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The right path depends on the entity, documents and commercial facts.