loucile@caveat, Author at Caveat Legal

The Founder Risk Premium: The Discount Buyers Apply Before They’ve Said a Word

Founders preparing for an exit frequently arrive at the valuation conversation with a clear view of what the business is worth: the revenue trajectory, the customer quality, the market position, the product. What they encounter instead is an offer that reflects something different – a price that appears to discount everything they believe they’ve built. […]

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The Regional GC’s 90-Day Playbook: From “Gate” to Growth Partner

Corporate & Commercial Law / loucile@caveat

Most African subsidiaries hear the same message: “Follow global, move fast, spend less.”That’s hard when policies live in SharePoint, templates differ by country, and Legal is juggling people issues, disputes, and urgent deals.Here’s a 90‑day playbook any regional or subsidiary GC can run – without waiting for a global re‑org. Days 1–15: Get the X‑RayFind

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Tangled Equity: Navigating the Minefield of Complex Cap Tables

Mergers & Acquisitions / loucile@caveat

We’ve seen it happen – even the most carefully planned M&A deals can be derailed as the finish line comes into sight. Seasoned investors and serial entrepreneurs alike can be caught off guard by a single oversight in a cap table. What seems like a promising funding round turns into a negotiation quagmire when multiple

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From Headline Price to Cash in Hand: Navigating the Final Stretch of your Business Sale

Mergers & Acquisitions / loucile@caveat

When a founder sells their company, the headline price often feels like the culmination of years of hard work. There’s the euphoria of seeing the finish line at last. But that headline figure is not the same as cash in hand. Deals can, and often do, falter in the long stretch between signing and completion.We’ve

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Deals in Africa: Price the Execution, Not Just the Story

Financial Services Law, Fintech & Cryptocurrency Law, Mergers & Acquisitions / loucile@caveat

Great deals rarely fail on strategy – they stumble on execution. Investment memos model TAM (Total Addressable Market) and competition elegantly. Where value often leaks is in the plumbing: regulatory paths, contract transferability, data protection exposure, people risk, tax, and the assumption that targets are tidy when the reality is far more messy. If you’re

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Exit-Ready Isn’t a Data Room. It’s Discipline.

Corporate & Commercial Law, Mergers & Acquisitions / loucile@caveat

Founders often think “exit-ready” equals “we spun up a data room.” In reality, buyers price certainty above all – and certainty is built long before diligence starts. The fastest way to a clean deal (and a higher headline price that actually converts to cash) is to fix what breaks deals long before an LOI lands.

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Your Real Legal Problem Isn’t Budget – It’s Fragmentation

Corporate & Commercial Law / loucile@caveat

Every African GC I speak to is being asked to “do more with less.” It’s counterintuitive, but budget isn’t the true constraint – fragmentation is. Global policies live in SharePoint while local teams often rebuild from scratch. Procurement can’t see performance, and executives experience Legal as a bottleneck precisely when the business most needs cross-border

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