Sell, Merge or Partner? Weighing Your Deal Options with an M&A Attorney

An acquirer reaches out, or a larger partner proposes a joint venture. Most founders face that conversation once, with no playbook and a lot riding on the first few decisions. In this session, founders weighing an exit or a strategic deal compare their options with an attorney who structures these transactions every day.

Zach Haveman is an M&A and corporate attorney and a shareholder at Carney Badley Spellman in Seattle. He represents both sellers and buyers in mergers and acquisitions. He also serves as outside general counsel to closely held companies on ownership transitions, buy-sell and shareholder agreements, startup formation and financing. He was named a Washington Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2025.

This is a working discussion about live decisions, not a lecture on M&A theory. What founders share in the session stays in the room.

What you'll take away:

• How a full buyout, joint venture, partial sale and earn-out compare, and what each means for your control, your payout and your role afterward

• What a letter of intent commits you to, and which terms are hard to change once you sign

• When you need a banker, and when a lawyer and a good advisor are enough

• The diligence and negotiation traps first-time sellers fall into most often

• What to clean up now (contracts, cap table, IP) so a buyer's questions don't slow the deal down

If an acquirer or partner has approached you, or you want to understand your options before one does, join us.