Purchase of Business

There are two ways in which to purchase a business. The most common way to purchase a business is for the buyer to buy all the assets of the business. By purchasing only the assets of the business, the purchaser avoids any liability for past debts. The other way of purchasing a business is by purchasing all of the stock, or the membership interest if it is held by an LLC. When a person purchases the stock or all of the membership interest of a corporation or LLC, they receive all the assets and liabilities of the corporation. The reason why someone would buy all the corporation's stock or membership interest would be if the business held a valuable asset or contract that could not necessarily be assigned.