EMBARK.LAW

Mergers & Acquisitions

Your deal. On your terms.

If you're planning an exit or making an acquisition, the M&A process determines how much value you keep and how smoothly the transaction closes.

With EMBARK.LAW, you'll get practical guidance, commercial judgment and experienced lawyers from the first conversation through closing.

Let's talkHow it works
If you need a skilled, professional, reliable partner on the one hand, and on the other hand, one that's pragmatic: That's a perfect match with EMBARK.LAW.
TaskbaseSamuel Portmann, CEO and Co-founder, Taskbase (Corporate EdTech)

M&A for startups and scaleups

Startup M&A works differently

Whether you're selling, buying or merging: investors with special rights, option holders and key people shape every startup deal. We structure the transaction around them.

  1. The real value is in the people

    In tech deals and acqui-hires, key people and development teams often matter far more than revenue to date.

  2. Address investor rights early

    Vetoes, tag-along and drag-along: shareholder approvals should be settled before time pressure builds on the home stretch.

  3. The proceeds reach you

    Liquidation preferences, conversion rights and employee pools determine what ultimately lands in your account.

  4. Focus on technology and IP

    Buyers scrutinize software, open-source licenses and key contracts in detail. The more organized the data room, the faster the closing.

  5. Get more than just the purchase price

    Fair warranties, sensible liability caps and achievable earn-out targets determine what the deal is really worth.

What we do

M&A advice that fits your deal

For buyers

Making an acquisition

Due diligence
What are you really buying? We run a focused review and flag the risks that should shape price and terms.
Deal structuring
Share deal, asset deal, cash, shares or earn-out: We build the deal around what makes commercial sense for you.
Team and integration
From signing to day one: contracts, systems and responsibilities move over without friction.
Closing & approvals
Shareholder approvals, investor consents and closing mechanics without last-minute chaos.

For sellers

Your exit, your terms

Pre-deal checkup
Fix cap table, IP and contract gaps before buyers start their due diligence.
Data room and timeline
An organized data room and a clear timeline, so buyer questions don't slow the deal down.
Founder protection
Reasonable warranties, sensible liability caps, and terms that let you sleep well after closing.
Earn-outs and payout
Clear, realistic targets if part of the price depends on future milestones, and a payout that actually reaches you.

Track record

Recent transactions

  • Retail

    Sale of a retail scaleup with several hundred employees to a strategic acquirer.

  • Tech

    Strategic technology acquisition and acqui-hire transaction.

  • Industrials

    Sale of an industrial business through an asset transaction with management roll-over.

  • Tech

    Sale of a tech startup and acqui-hire transaction to a global technology company.

Why EMBARK.LAW

Your M&A, guided by specialists

Specialized

We combine extensive experience from startup and scaleup transactions with advice tailored to your deal.

Speed through continuity

One dedicated mandate lead knows your company, your cap table and your investors. That keeps everything moving at your pace, with no ramp-up time.

Clear and to the point

No endless legal treatises and no "it depends". We deliver clear assessments and actionable recommendations.

Committed to your UX

Your user experience is front and center for us. We make working with us as easy, direct and comfortable as possible.

Senior lawyers, hands-on

The same experienced senior lawyers stay directly involved from the first conversation through closing.

Focused on the commercial outcome

We negotiate for the outcome and keep execution moving, rather than getting lost in wording.

We founded Animatico in 2019 as an ETH spin-off with the mission to create the next-generation human-computer interface through stylized AI avatars. EMBARK.LAW was our go-to law firm from our seed round all through our exit. They helped us set up a solid IP strategy, created user-friendly customer contracts for us and managed our financing round professionally and smoothly. When Animatico was acquired by a US tech giant, they went all in for us and had our back during the negotiations. They delivered their usual excellent quality work all through the high-pressure, high-stakes process of the exit.

One thing we particularly valued when working with EMBARK.LAW were their simple and thorough explanations. Understanding all the details of the situation and their implications helped us take our decisions with confidence. We're also grateful that they always made sure everybody knew who was doing what until when. Knowing that they were thinking along allowed us to free our minds for other things.

AnimaticoPascal Bérard, Christian Schüller and Riccardo Roveri, Co-founders, Animatico AG (animated AI avatars)

M&A guides

Preparing for a sale

Why most business owners start preparing for a sale far too late, and what an early start changes for buyer confidence and value.

Strategic buyer or private equity

How the two buyer types differ on valuation, deal structure, continuity and the outcome for sellers.

The term sheet

Which M&A terms you should settle early, from price mechanics and exclusivity to earn-outs, rollover equity and timing.

Due diligence

How buyers really assess financials, management, contracts, intellectual property and ownership during due diligence.

The highest price

Why the highest price is not always the best offer, and how to compare certainty, deal structure and economic outcome.

Representations and warranties

What sellers are really promising, and how representations, warranties and disclosure allocate risk after closing.

Ready for the next step?

Tell us about your plans. We'll get back to you as soon as possible with an initial assessment and suggested times for an intro call.

Email us