Business Purchase and Sale Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio)

A Business Purchase and Sale Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio or Compraventa de Empresa) is a commercial contract by which the owner (vendedor) of a going-concern business (negocio en marcha) transfers all or a specified portion of that business — including its tangible assets (activos tangibles), intangible assets (activos intangibles), goodwill (clientela o fondo de comercio), commercial contracts (contratos comerciales), intellectual property (propiedad intelectual), and operational infrastructure — to a buyer (comprador) in exchange for an agreed purchase price (precio de compraventa). In Mexico, this transaction is classified as an acto de comercio under Article 75 of the Código de Comercio (CóCom), making commercial law the primary governing framework, supplemented by the general contract provisions of the Código Civil Federal (CCF) Articles 2248 through 2283 for sale of property principles.

The Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio in Mexico must be carefully distinguished from a share purchase (compraventa de acciones) under the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles (LGSM). In a business asset sale — which is what the Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio documents — the buyer acquires specific identified assets of the business without necessarily assuming the legal entity's historical liabilities, pending litigation, or undisclosed obligations. In a share sale, the buyer acquires ownership of the legal entity itself, including all its liabilities (disclosed and undisclosed). Mexican tax and commercial practice often prefers the asset sale structure for its liability-containment advantages, though share sales may offer more favourable tax treatment under the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR) Articles 24–26 governing capital gains.

The transfer of a Mexican business (enajenación de negocio) involves multiple overlapping legal regimes. The Código de Comercio Article 75 Fractions I and II classifies the purchase and sale of goods and commercial enterprises as acts of commerce, subjecting the transaction to the full commercial law framework including the merchant registration obligations of Articles 16–28 CóCom, the Registro Público de Comercio (RPC) requirements administered by the Secretaría de Economía (SE) through the Sistema Electrónico de Publicidad Mercantil (SIEM), and commercial eviction and warranty principles under Articles 371–398 CóCom.

The CCF Articles 2248–2283 supply the foundational sale-of-property principles that apply to asset sales in Mexico — including the seller's obligations of: entrega (delivery) of the thing sold in the condition agreed; garantía de evicción (warranty against eviction — protecting the buyer against third-party claims of better title to transferred assets) under CCF Articles 2119–2179; and garantía de vicios ocultos (warranty against hidden defects) under CCF Articles 2142–2162. These warranties cannot be fully excluded in Mexican law without express notice and buyer acceptance — implied warranties against eviction survive even in 'as is' commercial transactions.

For real property (inmuebles) forming part of the business assets — such as the business premises (local comercial) owned by the seller — the transfer requires a public deed (escritura pública) executed before a Notario Público (licensed Mexican notary) under Article 89 CóCom and Articles 2317–2320 CCF, and registration in the Registro Público de la Propiedad (RPP) of the applicable state. Commercial leases (contratos de arrendamiento comercial) that the seller holds for the business premises must be assigned or re-negotiated with the building owner — assignment of a lease without the landlord's written consent is void under CCF Article 2480.

For transfer of intellectual property assets — including trademarks (marcas), patents (patentes), utility models (modelos de utilidad), and trade secrets (secretos industriales) — the assignment must comply with the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) Articles 136–146 (for trademark assignments) and Articles 71–75 (for patent assignments). Trademark assignments must be registered with the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) to be effective against third parties under LFPPI Article 136. Transfer of domain names and social media accounts require separate assignment agreements outside the IMPI framework.

A Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio Mexico is required whenever an entrepreneur, business owner, or private equity investor seeks to transfer a going-concern operation — whether a small retail business (negocio de retail), restaurant (restaurante), manufacturing plant (planta de manufactura), professional services firm (despacho de servicios profesionales), or established commercial enterprise — to a new owner in exchange for a purchase price, as a commercial act governed by the Código de Comercio Article 75 and CCF Articles 2248–2283.

The agreement is needed when a business owner is planning retirement or succession — transferring the family business (empresa familiar) to a third party buyer or to family members through a formal sale transaction rather than a donation or inheritance, which may have different tax implications under the LISR and the Ley del Impuesto sobre Adquisición de Inmuebles (LISAI) of each state.

A business sale contract is required when a private equity fund, venture capital firm, or strategic acquirer structured as a Sociedad de Capital de Riesgo (SCR) or SAPI (Sociedad Anónima Promotora de Inversión) under the Ley del Mercado de Valores (LMV) conducts an asset acquisition rather than a share acquisition — structuring the deal as a Compraventa de Negocio enables the buyer to cherry-pick assets and exclude specific liabilities.

The contract is needed in franchise termination scenarios under LFPPI Article 245 — where a franchisee operates under a franchise agreement and the franchisor or a competing franchisee acquires the franchisee's business assets (equipment, customer base, location improvements) upon termination of the franchise. A properly structured Compraventa de Negocio documents the asset transfer and protects both parties.

Mexican commercial law under Articles 16–28 CóCom requires that merchants (comerciantes) register changes in ownership of commercial establishments (establecimientos mercantiles) in the Registro Público de Comercio — the Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio is the documentary foundation for this registration. Without formal documentation and registration, the transfer may not be enforceable against creditors of the seller who had registered liens (gravámenes inscritos) in the RPC against the business assets.

SAT tax obligations arising from a business sale — including capital gains (ganancias de capital) under LISR Article 24, VAT (IVA) on tangible asset transfers under the Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (LIVA) Articles 1–14, and the seller's obligation to issue CFDI for the consideration received — require a formal written contract specifying the purchase price allocation among asset categories for correct tax treatment and CFDI emission.

A valid Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio Mexico under the Código de Comercio Article 75 and CCF Articles 2248–2283 must include the following essential elements to be enforceable before the Juzgados de Distrito en Materia Civil Federal and to satisfy Registro Público de Comercio, IMPI, and SAT requirements:

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC, CURP (for individuals) or corporate RFC and Registro Público de Comercio folio number (for legal entities), domicile, and legal representative with power of attorney reference (Poder Notarial) for each of the seller (vendedor) and buyer (comprador). Corporate sellers must present a certified extract of the authority of their legal representative to execute the sale — verified through the Registro Público de Comercio or the applicable state's Registro Público de la Propiedad.

Description of the Business Being Sold: A comprehensive description of the negocio en marcha — including its commercial name (nombre comercial), operating address (domicilio de operación), SIEM registration number, Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC) of the business, and a general description of the business activity (giro comercial or giro mercantil). Attach as an exhibit the complete inventory (inventario) of tangible assets being transferred.

Asset Schedule (Inventario de Activos): A detailed schedule annexed to the contract listing all assets transferred — fixed assets (activos fijos): machinery (maquinaria), equipment (equipo), vehicles (vehículos), furniture (mobiliario y equipo de oficina), and computer systems (sistemas informáticos); current assets (activos circulantes): inventory (inventario de mercancías) valued at acquisition cost or market value; intellectual property: trademarks registered at IMPI with registration numbers, trade names (nombres comerciales), domain names, and social media accounts; contracts: customer contracts (contratos con clientes), supplier agreements (contratos con proveedores), and software licences (licencias de software) being assigned; and goodwill (fondo de comercio or clientela) with agreed valuation.

Liabilities Assumed or Excluded: Express statement of which liabilities the buyer assumes (pasivos asumidos) — typically: lease obligations (rentas por vencer), supplier payables (cuentas por pagar a proveedores), and specific identified contracts. Express exclusion of pre-closing liabilities (pasivos anteriores al cierre) — including pending litigation (litigios pendientes), tax liabilities (adeudos fiscales), IMSS and INFONAVIT contribution shortfalls (diferencias de cuotas), and labour liabilities (pasivos laborales) for employees not being transferred. Mexican commercial courts have held that ambiguous liability allocation clauses are construed against the buyer in commercial transactions.

Purchase Price and Payment Terms: The total purchase price (precio de compraventa) in MXN with allocation among asset categories for LISR capital gains and IVA purposes — tangible assets subject to IVA under LIVA Article 1; goodwill generally exempt from IVA. Payment structure: initial deposit (anticipo or señal) at signing; staged payments (pagos escalonados) tied to closing milestones; deferred consideration (precio diferido) with interest at the rate stipulated or at the TIIE (Tasa de Interés Interbancaria de Equilibrio) published by Banco de México plus a margin; and escrow arrangements (fideicomiso en garantía) at a Mexican fiduciaria (typically a bank authorized by the CNBV) for contingent consideration.

Representations and Warranties (Declaraciones y Garantías): Seller warranties covering: good and marketable title (título libre de gravámenes) to all transferred assets; no undisclosed material liabilities as of closing; compliance with all applicable regulations (SAT, IMSS, INFONAVIT, STPS, SEMARNAT environmental permits under LGEEPA); validity and assignability of all transferred contracts; no pending litigation materially affecting the assets; and current validity of IMPI-registered intellectual property. These warranties are supplemented by the statutory garantía de evicción under CCF Articles 2119–2179.

Employee Transfer Provisions: Statement of which employees (trabajadores) are transferred with the business and on what terms — under LFT Article 41 (sustitución patronal), when a business is transferred as a going concern, the new employer assumes all labour obligations of the prior employer as of the date of transfer. The contract must identify each transferred employee by name and position, confirm their seniority (antigüedad) recognition, and address the treatment of accrued benefits. Employees not transferred must receive severance calculated on the closing date.

Non-Compete Obligation: A post-closing non-compete clause (cláusula de no competencia) restricting the seller from operating a competing business for a defined period (typically two to three years) and within a geographic radius — enforceable under Código de Comercio Article 75 and CCF Article 1795 between commercial parties, subject to reasonableness of scope. Mexican civil courts distinguish between enforceable commercial non-competes between business sellers and void employment non-competes under LFT Article 5 of the Constitución.

Forms-legal.com provides this Contrato de Compraventa de Negocio Mexico template as a starting document. Business acquisitions involving real property, significant intellectual property, employee transfers under LFT Article 41, or values above $50 million MXN should be reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialised in derecho corporativo and/or mercantil, and formalized before a Notario Público for full enforceability and RPC registration.