Corporate legal affairs attorney, please tell me how to respond to the media when carrying out an M&A.

Hello. This is a corporate legal affairs attorney at Daeryun Law LLC.

You have asked about media response measures in connection with carrying out an M&A.

The response measures vary depending on the way the merger and acquisition is carried out.

First, in the public bidding method, which requires openly recruiting prospective acquirers, it is advantageous to attract as many prospective acquirers as possible through active promotion and to induce competition.

At this time, it is important to unify the channels of communication with the media and the outside, and to emphasize the company's credibility through a consistent message.

In addition, emphasizing the company's strengths by utilizing specialized personnel or know-how is also a good method.

It is advisable to prepare press release materials in advance in preparation for media coverage.

Conversely, in the case of an individual negotiation method in which the transaction proceeds with a small number of prospective acquirers, an attitude of responding passively to the media in order to maintain confidentiality is needed.

If there has been experience responding to the media in the past, it is desirable to establish guidelines on response measures and confidentiality measures together with the company and the participants on the seller's side.

In addition, it is important to prepare response measures in advance in case of exposure to the media in a situation where maintaining confidentiality is difficult.

Because the media response strategy also varies depending on how the M&A is carried out, we recommend preparing with the help of a corporate legal affairs attorney who can provide legal advice.