Unsuccessful Acquisition of Trial Technology Company Leads to Legal Dispute

Case Overview

This case study revolves around two trial technology companies, the buying company (Company B) and the failing company (Company A). Company B acquired Company A for $300,000 with the aim of making it profitable.

The agreement stipulated that if Company B failed to make a profit, the promissory note would not be paid from its depleted assets. Despite their efforts, Company B remained unprofitable after acquiring Company A.

This financial strain led Company B’s owner, who also owned several other trial technology companies, to borrow money from his other businesses. These loans were occasionally repaid through services invoiced by Company B, but no funds flowed from Company B to the owner’s other companies.

As profitability waned, the owner decided to wind down the company. Company B offered to pay half of the promissory note before all assets were exhausted. However, this offer was rejected by Company A’s owner. Subsequently, due to the pandemic and national freeze on trials in 2020, Company B ran out of assets and could not honor the promissory note.

Company A alleges that Company B’s owner fraudulently used funding from his other companies to evade repaying the promissory note. They further claim that despite winding down Company B, its services were divided among the owner’s other trial technology companies.

This means that its services continue indirectly. Therefore, they argue that these other companies should repay the promissory note. In contrast, Company B maintains that Company A was inherently unprofitable and remains so post-acquisition. They deny any continuation of their services in the owner’s other companies.

Questions to the expert and their responses

Can you describe your professional experience in data analysis, specifically as it relates to performing independent analyses of a company's job sheets?

As a professor in the department of decision sciences for analytics, operations research, and statistics at a renowned university, I teach graduate and undergraduate statistics courses.

My students participate in significant data analysis projects as part of our senior business analytics capstone course. My research focuses on applied probability and decision theory issues.

What information would you need to determine if Company B's services continued to be performed by the owner's other companies?

To ascertain whether Company B’s services continued by the owner’s other companies, I would require historical records from each company. This will allow me to analyze the overall sales trend of each company and identify any substantial changes upon Company B’s closing.

About the expert

This expert has an extensive background in data science and operations research, with advanced degrees including a PhD in Operations Research. Their professional experience includes roles as a research analyst for a prominent data analysis firm and a senior analyst for a mortgage company. Currently, they serve as an Associate Clinical Professor of Decision Sciences and MIS at a university in Pennsylvania, further solidifying their expertise in the field.