We are in the 11th hour of purchasing a small business. Throughout the due diligence process the seller has been hyper-paranoid about his employees (whom are in their 60s and 70s) catching wind of the sale, so we have had to access the property only after business hours. Even after the Purchase Agreement has been signed he is STILL very squirrely about his employees finding out. (1) is this normal? (2) any obvious red flags?
Note: seller is hands-off and remote. Employees operate the day-to-day.
Absolutely normal, not a red flag. Employees are free to leave at any time, you aren’t going to be able to put a provision in the contract that says “if X number of employees leave, the contract is void”.
On day one, I suggest offering an employment contract to key employees (managers and high producers) that states they will get a bonus if they stay for one year or a length of your choosing. Beyond that, it’s up to you to keep a stable and good work environment. But, to be honest, if all the employees are in their 60s and 70s, they’re not staying long anyways