What legal due diligence is actually for

Legal due diligence reviews the target company's records, contracts, licences, and history to surface risks, liabilities, and compliance gaps before they affect the deal. Done well, it shapes the price, the warranties, the indemnities, and sometimes the question of whether to proceed at all.

Six red flag categories that recur

1. Corporate structure

Look for: missing or inconsistent board and shareholder resolutions; minutes that do not match the constitution or shareholder agreements; shareholders or directors recorded inconsistently across SSM, the share register, and contracts; share allotments without proper s. 78 returns. Any of these can mean the seller cannot legally transfer what the buyer thinks it is acquiring.

2. Contracts

Look for: change-of-control clauses that are triggered by the acquisition (in customer contracts, supplier contracts, leases, distribution agreements); unusual termination, renewal, or penalty terms; key relationships that are not documented at all. A single triggered change-of-control clause can cost the deal its commercial core.

3. Licences and permits

Look for: missing, expired, or suspended licences; non-compliance with the conditions of existing approvals; sector-specific permits that do not transfer on a share sale. In regulated sectors, the licence is often the asset.

4. Employment

Look for: no written contracts for key staff; terms not updated for the Employment Act 1955 amendments in force since 1 January 2023; weak or missing confidentiality and IP-assignment clauses for key engineers and executives; and pending Industrial Court cases.

5. Financing

Look for: change-of-control clauses in loan agreements and financing facilities; personal guarantees by shareholders that fall away or need to be replaced post-acquisition; existing security interests over assets the buyer is acquiring; cross-default clauses that link separate facilities.

6. Litigation and disputes

Look for: pending civil suits, Industrial Court cases, tax disputes, regulatory investigations; threatened claims that have not yet matured into proceedings; outstanding statutory notices.

The new mandatory item, beneficial ownership compliance

Following the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 and the parallel LLP framework, BO compliance has become a hard due diligence item. Check that the target has correctly identified its beneficial owners under all six criteria, that the internal Register is maintained, that lodgements with SSM via the e-BOS system are current, and that no false or misleading information has been filed. Non-compliance carries fines and reputational risk, and false filings can attract up to RM3 million in fines and 10 years' imprisonment.

How to act on what you find

  • Price adjustment. Quantifiable risks (liabilities, missing licences, contested ownership) should be reflected in price.
  • Conditions precedent. Some risks should be cleared before completion, not left as warranties.
  • Specific indemnities. Where a risk is identified and not curable, an indemnity ring-fenced to that risk is more useful than a general warranty.
  • Walk away. Sometimes the DD finding is the answer.

If you are buying, selling, or raising capital, please contact us early in the diligence process. The pitfalls in this article are easier to design around than to litigate over.

法律尽职调查到底是为了什么

法律尽职调查审视标的公司之记录、合同、牌照与历史，将风险、负债与合规缺口在影响交易之前揭露出来。做得好，它会塑造价格、保证条款、赔偿条款，有时甚至决定是否继续交易。

六项反复出现的红旗

一、公司架构

关注：缺失或前后不一的董事会与股东决议；与章程或股东协议不符的会议记录；股东或董事在 SSM、股东登记册及合同中记录不一；股份配发缺乏适当的第 78 条申报。任一项均可能意味着卖方法律上无法转让买方以为正在收购的东西。

二、合同

关注：收购触发的「控制权变更」条款（客户合同、供应商合同、租约、分销协议）；异常的终止、续约或罚则条款；完全未文件化的关键关系。仅一条被触发的控制权变更条款，便足以让交易失去商业内核。

三、牌照与许可

关注：缺失、过期或被暂停的牌照；现有批准条件未予遵守；不会随股权出售而转移的行业特定许可。在受监管行业，牌照本身往往就是资产。

四、雇佣

关注：关键员工无书面合同；未依《1955 年雇佣法令》自 2023 年 1 月 1 日生效之修订更新的条款；关键工程师或高管之保密与知识产权转让条款薄弱或缺失；以及待决的劳资法庭案件。

五、融资

关注：贷款协议与融资工具中的控制权变更条款；股东个人担保在收购后需被解除或替换；买方所收购资产之上的现有担保权益；将不同融资捆绑的交叉违约条款。

六、诉讼与争议

关注：待决之民事诉讼、劳资法庭案件、税务争议、监管调查；尚未演变为正式程序的威胁性索赔；未结清的法定通知。

新增的强制项，受益所有权合规

《2024 年公司法（修订）法令》及与 LLP 平行之框架推出后，BO 合规已成为尽职调查中的「硬项目」。需核查：标的是否依全部六项标准正确识别其受益所有人、内部登记册是否依规维护、通过 e-BOS 系统向 SSM 的申报是否最新、是否未提交虚假或具误导性的信息。违规可被罚款并影响声誉；虚假申报最高可处 300 万令吉罚款及 10 年监禁。

如何在调查结果上采取行动

  • 价格调整。可量化的风险（负债、缺失之牌照、有争议的所有权）应反映于价格。
  • 先决条件。部分风险应在交割前消除，而非以保证条款应对。
  • 专项赔偿条款。对已识别但无法治愈的风险，针对该风险的赔偿条款比一般性保证更有用。
  • 放弃交易。有时尽职调查的结论本身，就是答案。

若您正进行收购、出售或融资，建议在尽职调查的早期阶段与本所联系。本文所列陷阱，事前架构远比事后争讼来得有效。