Merger and Takeover in UK Law

Certainty is only achieved when the vendor is left in no reasonable doubt not only that a claim may be brought but of the particulars of the ground upon which the claim is to be based. The clause contemplates that the notice will be couched in terms which are sufficiently clear and unambiguous as to leave no such doubt and to leave no room for argument about the particulars of the complaint.

Thus, by the time the writ was issued they would have had the capital asset constituted by the new business, plus the profits made by that new business in the intervening period. One may assume the value of this capital asset to be the same as the value which the plaintiffs placed on the Exeter Road business, namely £20,000.

The court would accept that the increase in its value during the marriage was as much non-matrimonial as its value at the date of the marriage: it would thereby allow for its passive growth. Passive growth is to be contrasted with growth as a result of contributions of one sort or another made during the marriage, i.e. of activity, irrespective of whether such is achieved with the assistance of a spring-board already in position.

Examples of the kind of condition which the court may be willing to sanction, even if they are unsatisfied at the date of the hearing, are outstanding requirements for foreign regulatory approval which there is no reason to suppose will not be granted.

The reason why an agreement to negotiate, like an agreement to agree, is unenforceable, is simply because it lacks the necessary certainty. Each party to the negotiations is entitled to pursue his (or her) own interest, so long as he avoids making misrepresentations. In my judgment, while negotiations are in existence either party is entitled to withdraw from those negotiations, at any time and for any reason.