{"id":172766,"date":"2022-07-26T01:01:21","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T00:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=172766"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:41:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T23:41:08","slug":"difference-share-asset-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/difference-share-asset-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Difference Between an Asset Sale and a Share Sale?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When <a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/business-sale-purchase\/how-to-sell-your-company\/\">selling parts of your business<\/a>, you can structure the transaction as either an asset sale or a share sale. An asset sale is where you choose some of your company\u2019s assets to sell while maintaining ownership of your business. Whereas a share sale is where you can sell the entire company outright by selling its shares to a buyer. If you are unsure about the difference between a share sale and an asset sale, this article will explain each sale structure and its advantages and disadvantages.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asset Sales<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an asset sale, your business will sell some of its assets. <\/span>An<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> asset is any object that holds value, including:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">land;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">machinery;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cars;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">IT systems;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">intellectual property, like trade marks or copyrights;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">money your business is owed (i.e. trade receivables); and<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the benefit of commercial contracts.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Essentially, y<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ou do not lose ownership of your business when you undergo an asset sale. Nor does the buyer gain any ownership interest. Instead, you transfer ownership of your business\u2019 assets to the buyer and receive money or some other form of consideration in return.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div  class=\"box box--icon box--info\">\n    <p>For example, say you own a business that has a large number of vans and lorries. You may have calculated that it is cheaper to sell and lease back these vehicles from a buyer rather than own them outright. Therefore, you can structure the transaction by way of an asset sale. This is where you sign away the legal title to the vehicles and receive cash in exchange. Notably, at no point does the buyer gain any ownership of your business. The only thing the buyer will own is the assets they purchased.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Further Considerations&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the context of complex transactions, there may be multiple assets your business wishes to sell. For instance, say your company is in the business of patenting and manufacturing special machines. These machines are incredibly complex since they are made up of different components, each with its own patent that your company owns. Additionally, contracts with other manufacturers ensure you deliver five of these machines to each manufacturer. In exchange, the manufacturers guarantee that you will be their sole supplier of these machines for the next five years.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a potential transaction involving the sale of these machines, there are multiple assets that the seller might want to acquire. These include the:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">machines themselves; <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">patents that entitle them to manufacture each of the machine\u2019s components; and&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">benefit of the contracts with the manufacturers that guarantee you will have a steady stream of machine sales.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this instance, an asset sale allows a buyer to purchase your business&#8217; machines <em>and<\/em> their accompanying benefits such as the patents and the contract.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Transferring Liabilities&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asset sales also allow you to transfer liabilities in a contract. To explain, all contracts contain two elements: obligations and benefits. In this sense, each party will have a set of obligations and a corresponding set of benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the above example, the contract gives your company the benefit that guarantees the sale of its machines. However, you also must deliver the machines to the other manufacturers.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If a buyer wishes to acquire the machines, your patents, and the benefits of the contracts, you would probably want to ensure they also acquire the obligation to deliver the machines. In other words, you would also want to transfer the liability under the contract.&nbsp;However, transferring liabilities can diminish the price the buyer is willing to pay.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Share <\/span>Sales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Unlike an asset sale, a share sale is where the buyer acquires <\/span>ownership of the company<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that carries on business activity. In a share sale, you sell the shares you own in a business to the buyer, effectively making them the company owner. This is done by completing a <a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/issue-shares-limited-company\/\">share-transfer<\/a> form. A share-transfer form transfers the legal and beneficial ownership in the shares from you, the seller, to the buyer.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Compared to asset sales, share sales can be more straightforward. This is because the only asset you are transferring is the entirety of the shares themselves.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Further Considerations<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the machine example above, suppose that delivering these machines is one of your main business activities. You have separate companies which run each of these business activities.&nbsp; As such, you hold all the shares in each company through a holding company.&nbsp;Say you want to sell the entirety of your machine manufacturing and supply business. Rather than sell each asset (and transfer any corresponding liability), you can just sell the entire company by selling your shares in it to the buyer.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<a href=\"#content-next\"\n   class=\"block p-4 mt-10 text-xl font-bold text-center text-white no-underline bg-gray-800 rounded-t-xl\">\n    Continue reading this article below the form\n    <i class=\"text-xl fa-regular fa-arrow-down\"><\/i>\n<\/a>\n<div class=\"px-6 pt-10 pb-12 mb-10 text-center bg-gray-100 rounded-b-xl sm:px-12 test\">\n    <div class=\"mb-8 text-2xl font-bold text-orange\">\n        Need legal advice?\n        <br>\n        <span class=\"text-lg not-prose\">\n                            Call <a href=\"tel:+448081968584\" class=\"not-prose\">0808 196 8584<\/a> for urgent assistance.\n                <br>\n                Otherwise, complete this form, and we will contact you within one business day.\n                    <\/span>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n<div class=\"not-prose flex 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       } else {            triggerPostRender();        }    } );} );\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-next\"><!-- scroll anchor --><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Advantages and Disadvantages<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before you decide which sale method is right for your business, you should consider the following <a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/business-sale-purchase\/share-sale-vs-asset-sale\/\">advantages and disadvantages<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asset <\/span>Sales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Advantages<\/strong><\/td><td><p><b>Disadvantages&nbsp;<\/b><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the seller, you can choose which assets and liabilities the buyer will acquire.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul><br><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will not necessarily have to seek the approval of the shareholders to authorise the sale.<\/li><\/ul><\/td><td><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The transaction can be more complex and require more documentation than a share sale.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You may be left with the liabilities inherent to certain assets.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There may be undesirable tax consequences when trying to benefit from the proceeds of the sale.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li> <\/ul><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Share <\/span>Sales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>\n<p><b>Advantages<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td><td>\n<p><b>Disadvantages<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The transaction is simpler because all you are selling are the shares themselves.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will not have any leftover obligations since you will transfer these obligations to the owner of the company.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will receive the cash directly from the transaction.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will have to seek shareholder approval. If the shareholders disagree with the sale, they can refuse to sell their shares and bring the transaction to a halt.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are two ways to structure a corporate transaction. You can either choose which of the company\u2019s assets you wish to sell (an asset sale) or sell the entire company outright by selling its shares to the buyer. An asset sale can be more complex, but a share sale will require all the shareholders to approve the transaction.&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you need help structuring a corporate transaction, our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/business-sale-purchase-lawyers-lp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">experienced business sale and purchase lawyers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. You will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today at <a href=\"tel:+448081968584\" class=\"AVANSERnumber dynamic-number\">0808 196 8584<\/a> or visit our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/membership\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">membership page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1658791962401\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>What is an asset sale?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">An asset sale is a corporate transaction where a company sells specific assets to a buyer rather than transferring ownership of the entire company.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1658791980295\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>What is a share sale?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">A share sale is where shareholders sell their shares to a\u00a0 buyer in exchange for cash. As a result, the buyer acquires ownership of the business.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n<div class=\"not-prose m-feedback-prompt\">\n    <!-- Thumbs up\/down bar -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__main\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__title\">Was this article helpful?<\/div>\n        <div>\n            <!--span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button--text\">Thanks!<\/span-->\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--yes\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\" aria-label=\"Agree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-up fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--no\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\" aria-label=\"Disagree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-down fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Feedback form -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--thanks \">\n            <div>Thanks!<\/div>\n            <p>\n                We appreciate your feedback \u2013 your submission has been successfully received.            <\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--form\" action=\"\" method=\"post\">\n            <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"9eb4f72322\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172766\" \/>            <input value=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/difference-share-asset-sale\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\"\n                   id=\"currenturl\">\n            <input value=\"What is the Difference Between an Asset Sale and a Share Sale?\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\"\n                   id=\"currenttitle\">\n            <label>\n                <!-- display on thumbs-up -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--yes\">\n                    Can you tell us <span class=\"font-semibold\">why<\/span> you found it helpful?\n                <\/span>\n\n                <!-- display on thumbs-down -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--no text-lg\">\n                    How can we better improve this article?\n                <\/span>\n                <textarea name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\" required><\/textarea>\n            <\/label>\n\n            <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--error\" id=\"form-submit-error\"><\/div>\n            <button id=\"submit-contact-form-button\" type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--submit\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n                Submit            <\/button>\n        <\/form>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When selling parts of your business, you can structure the transaction as either an asset sale or a share sale. An asset sale is where you choose some of your company\u2019s assets to sell while maintaining ownership of your business. Whereas a share sale is where you can sell the entire company outright by selling<a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/difference-share-asset-sale\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;What is the Difference Between an Asset Sale and a Share Sale?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13461,"featured_media":3074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"2348,2025,3432,1199,1800,2731","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[21,52,101,102],"class_list":["post-172766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporations","tag-medium-business","tag-business-sale-and-purchase","tag-share-sale","tag-asset-sale"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the 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He has completed a Law Degree, the Legal Practice Course and a Masters in Sports Law, specialising in Football Law.","url":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/author\/kieranram\/"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/difference-share-asset-sale\/#faq-question-1658791962401","name":"What is an asset sale?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"An asset sale is a corporate transaction where a company sells specific assets to a buyer rather than transferring ownership of the entire company.","inLanguage":"en-GB"},"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/corporations\/difference-share-asset-sale\/#faq-question-1658791980295","name":"What is a share sale?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A share sale is where shareholders sell their shares to a\u00a0 buyer in exchange for cash. As a result, the buyer acquires ownership of the business.","inLanguage":"en-GB"},"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/13461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172766"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172865,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172766\/revisions\/172865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}