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ASTÉRALE Cassinia  ›  Preparing and absorbing a sale

What is decided before signature

Preparing and absorbing a sale

A sale is prepared two years ahead, or it is endured. Once the term sheet is signed, most levers are closed: contributing shares to a holding becomes late, gifts before sale look suspect, and the capital gains regime is fixed.

What we prepare

The timeline

What must be done before the letter of intent, before the term sheet, before completion. Each operation has its window, and closing it costs tax points.

Contribution-and-sale

Contributing shares to a holding before the sale, tax deferral under article 150-0 B ter, and the duty to reinvest 60% within two years where the sale follows quickly. Eligible assets are narrower than people assume.

Gifts before sale

Giving bare ownership before selling clears the gain on the share given — provided the gift is real, prior, and without the price finding its way back.

Afterwards

Sale proceeds are a new estate, and usually the worst handled. Allocation, wrappers, a deployment timetable, and above all: decide nothing in the first three months.

Three situations we have met

A contribution made too late

Shares were contributed to the holding a fortnight before the term sheet, with negotiations six months old. The abuse-of-law risk was documented before the next operation.

Reinvestment pointed the wrong way

The owner intended to reinvest in buy-to-let property. That is not an eligible asset for economic reinvestment under 150-0 B ter. The target was revised in time.

A buy-out that released liquidity

Rather than sell to a third party, the owner sold his company to his own debt-financed holding, banked the price and kept control. Debt service was checked over eight years.

Frequently asked questions

When should we start?

Ideally eighteen to twenty-four months before going to market. Six months out, room remains; after the letter of intent, very little.

Is the tax deferral permanent?

No, it is a deferral, not an exemption. It falls away on sale of the shares received, on failure to reinvest, and in certain cases on moving tax residence out of France.

Do you work with our corporate lawyer?

Yes, always. They run the transaction; we handle the owner's personal estate, which is a different subject and is often lost in the urgency of the sale.

General information: this page is neither personalised advice, nor an offer, nor an investment recommendation. Legal and tax deeds are drawn up by your notary, lawyer and accountant, whom we coordinate. All investment carries a risk of capital loss. Regulatory statuses and full legal notice on the Legal notice page (French).

First meeting · Confidential

Let us talk about your situation

If you head a family estate that nobody sees in full any more, that is what the first meeting is for: rebuilding the whole picture and telling you, plainly, whether there is a case for working together.