Can a seller split their business into two companies before selling me just one?

Yes, this is a recognized way for a seller to prepare for a partial sale — reorganizing a single corporation's business into two separate entities before a sale, so the one they're selling you is cleanly separate from the one they're keeping. This is typically done through a formal corporate reorganization, transferring specific assets, contracts, and employees into a new or existing related entity, rather than an informal internal split.

The nuance is that this kind of reorganization has its own consequences that need planning well before it's used to prepare for your purchase. Moving assets between related corporations can trigger tax consequences for the seller, requires proper corporate authorization and documentation, and needs enough time to actually separate shared resources — staff, leases, contracts — cleanly between the two resulting companies, rather than leaving ambiguity about what belongs where.

As the buyer, your interest is confirming the split was actually completed properly and that the entity you're buying doesn't carry over obligations that were meant to stay with the retained company. A business lawyer reviewing the reorganization's corporate records, and an accountant advising the seller on its tax treatment, both matter here.