Confidentiality agreements are typically employed to protect the
disclosures made by target companies to potential buyers and to
require buyers to deal with the target before making a bid. As case law has
demonstrated, it is essential to both sides that
confidentiality agreements are drafted carefully in order to avoid
adverse consequences either in the M&A context or in other
activity. At the same time, in many cases these agreements need to
be completed quickly, sometimes without the involvement of internal
or external counsel. It is critical that internal counsel and
others have reliable tools to allow them to settle confidentiality
agreements efficiently and with confidence.
To that end, we have created a checklist for building an oil and
gas confidentiality agreement that includes a list of issues to
consider from the perspectives of both the discloser and recipient.
We have also included in our toolkit below a review of common terms
found in confidentiality agreements, based on a review of 28 recent
transactions.
Toolkit for confidentiality agreements
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.