Assignment and assumption agreement

Definition

The closing document moving a contract or lease to the buyer.

Why It Matters

Many contracts and leases cannot move without the other party's consent, so which ones assign and on what terms is real diligence rather than a formality handled at the table. Read the consent language in every agreement that carries revenue, because the ones that need a signature are exactly the ones a counterparty can reprice while you are committed. Start those conversations the week the LOI is signed: consents are the closing condition most often waiting on somebody who has no reason to hurry.

In numbers: The $6,500-a-month premises lease, the fleet leases, and the three service contracts worth keeping all move by assignment and assumption: the seller assigns, you assume, and the landlord's consent is the slow one.