Foreword

• Author: Deborah S. Coldwell
• Pages: xxvii-xxviii

xxvii

The rst edition of Mergers & Acquisitions of Franchise Companies was published

in 1996. In the 18 years since, many merger and acquisition issues have remained

the same, but many have changed and several new issues have arisen. This sec‑

ond edition addresses them all.

What has changed and what new issues have appeared? First, there has been

an explosion of mergers and acquisitions—by global companies and by private

equity. That means more practitioners have participated in and handled mergers

and acquisitions of a franchise company over the past two decades. Second, there

has been a rapid expansion of international work in this area. Most transactional

lawyers have had to become familiar with how to broker an international deal

or a deal with international aspects. Third, more franchise companies, including

large franchisees, are purchased out of bankruptcy than ever before. The sec‑

ond edition of this book now covers all of these topics in new chapters including

bankruptcy, valuation, and international issues.

What remains the same? The bottom line basics have not changed. The skill‑

ful lawyer must still understand the practical problems associated with buying

and selling a franchise company, the due diligence required, the extra layer of

challenges that exist related to developers, subfranchisees, and franchisees in a

system, and the many trademark and real estate considerations at play.

As with the other scholarly works prepared by the Forum on Franchising,

this single publication ably covers franchise‑specic issues in a precise subject

area. And, as with all of our publications, this book did not arise in a vacuum.

Therefore, I want to thank the many Forum members associated with this edi‑

tion. First and foremost, I recognize and thank Christina Noyes and Len Vines,

the editors of the second edition. Len was the editor of the rst publication and

we appreciate his steady guidance through the preparation and production of

the second one. I also commend Karen Satterlee, the current Forum Publica‑

tions Ofcer, and Jamila Granger, the liaison to the Publications Committee, who

assisted in getting the book past the nish line. I also applaud the efforts of the

chapter authors—John Baer, Jeff Brimer, William Bryner, Chris Bussert, Harris

Chernow, Michael DeLaurentis, Richard Greenstein, Lucie Guyot, Herbert Hed‑

den, Mark Kirsch, Beata Krakus, Matthew Kreutzer, Ken Levinson, Judith Marsh,

Foreword

Vines_Mergers_20140521_13-42 FINAL.indd 27 6/3/14 1:26 PM