When acquiring or selling a company, many nuances exist in various stages of the process, some of which are not readily apparent on their face. One of those nuances is the interplay between accounts receivable and working capital.

Often, in an acquisition, a portion of the purchase price will essentially remain in the target company’s bank account as “working capital.” Working capital is the amount of cash required for a company to operate over a set period of time. The amount of working capital typically will not be a set number, rather, there will be a working capital target on which to base the purchase price on, and the final working capital will be delivered at closing, or determined post-closing.Continue Reading Working Capital and Accounts Receivable