Can I buy shares in one part of a business and assets in another, in the same deal?

Yes, and this comes up naturally where a business already operates across more than one legal entity — for example, a group with an operating corporation running day-to-day operations and a separate entity or individual owning the real estate or a secondary division. Buying shares of the entity you want intact, and assets from the entity holding the piece you'd rather take free of its history, lets you match the structure to how the business is actually organized rather than forcing everything into one form.

The nuance is that due diligence has to happen at the level of each entity separately. Confirming which specific assets, contracts, employees, and liabilities actually sit inside each entity — rather than assuming the whole business is neatly divided the way it's described to you — is essential before finalizing which parts you're buying which way. Shared resources that cross entity lines, like staff who work across both, or a single contract covering the whole operation, need particular attention.

A business lawyer mapping the seller's actual corporate structure early, before terms are set, is what keeps a deal like this from unraveling once due diligence starts.