I am in the process of negotiating a contract to purchase a business on Sukhumvit.  The cost of the acquistion is THB 18,000,000.  I am plannig to acquire the company which holds the  business.  Any advice or recommendation for a lawyer is greatly appreciated.  I also would like to ask the forum members to let me know what is the approximate cost that I should expect for legal fees.  Thank you in advance for all who comment.

That's a large transaction, get a proper lawyer, if you pay little there is a chance he sees money coming in from a dodgy contract later.

I totally agree with you.  I am a lawyer by profession (in the United States) so I understand the need for a competent lawyer.  That is why I am seeing counsel from the forum members.  Thanks again

15 minutes ago, flewis25200 said:

I totally agree with you.  I am a lawyer by profession (in the United States) so I understand the need for a competent lawyer.  That is why I am seeing counsel from the forum members.  Thanks again

Also have a good look at the financials of the company. Any outstanding debts / tax issues / vendor or customer problems.

58 minutes ago, flewis25200 said:

I am a lawyer by profession (in the United States) so I understand the need for a competent lawyer.  That is why I am seeing counsel from the forum members.

Yup this forum is the top one in SEA for lawyers. We all know our stuff to the max. 😂 Next discussion will be strawberry "torts".

Too large a deal to entrust to a Thai sole practitioner, but perhaps too small to interest one of the big names.

 

I will send you a PM.

I can recommend Mazars, their office is in Sathorn.  Good lawyers and tax accountants and a good mix of Thai and foreign experts.

H. Toosi Co., Ltd. 

65/177 Chamnan Phenjati Tower, 21st Fl, Rama IX Rd, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand

+66 2 643 8867

 

When working in Bangkok, this was our business lawyer. 

A lot of complicated issues solved perfectly. Good connections. 

If, and when you find one notify the Guinness book of records

https://www.siam-legal.com/

 

Have used them for legal stuff and found them good big firm so lots of specialised lawyers

21 hours ago, flewis25200 said:

I am in the process of negotiating a contract to purchase a business on Sukhumvit.  The cost of the acquistion is THB 18,000,000.  I am plannig to acquire the company which holds the  business.  Any advice or recommendation for a lawyer is greatly appreciated.  I also would like to ask the forum members to let me know what is the approximate cost that I should expect for legal fees.  Thank you in advance for all who comment.

You surely realize that as a foreigner you can only hold 49 percent of a Thai company unless you have permission from BOI otherwise.  
 

the other 51 percent must be held by Thai. It’s often some shady lawyer’s gardener’s sister in law or similar with a house book in Chiang Nowhere with already signed transfer documents to be acquired at will by another Thai later. 
 

the cheaper your legal fees the less likely your nominiere will ever be known to you.  
 

it is also illegal to use a Thai nominee shareholder structured. . 
 

Doing business since 2006 in Thailand (mostly under BOI). 

Thank you to all of you who responded - even the ones with sarcastic comments.

1 hour ago, teutonian said:

You surely realize that as a foreigner you can only hold 49 percent of a Thai company unless you have permission from BOI otherwise.  
 

 

If he is American, he can own 100%, with no Thai partner, under the Treaty of Amity.

 

There is a process to own under the Treaty, and not every law firm has the expertise. There are documents that must be produced by the US Embassy and filed with the Thai govt and DBD. The OP should contact Citizen's Services or the Commercial Section of the US Embassy in Bangkok to ask about the procedure. They might even provide a list of Thai-based law firms who handle Treaty of Amity filings.

 

Law firms that deal with filing under the Treaty charge between 150,000 and 250,000 baht to complete the process.

 

If the OP does 'one stop shopping' and gets legal and accounting advice through a firm with both departments, that firm can also do the paper work for the Non-B visa as well as the Work Permit. Note that being sole owner still requires one to obtain a Work Permit.

One of the larger law firms (and most expensive) is Tilleke and Gibbons.

https://www.tilleke.com/locations/thailand/

The company that I worked for in Bangkok used them and were happy.

 

One of their lawyers moved to Samui as an independent and he is very good. (Manit and Asssociates)

 

A smaller independent firm that I have used in Bangkok, albeit in a criminal case, was Singh, Kriangsak and Surachai law office in Bangkok.

They were very good. We won the case in spite of the lawyer being threatened. He stayed and saw it through.