Energy-services firms whose earnings ride the commodity cycle, the professional and logistics businesses that serve them, and franchise-heavy retail corridors across the city — Calgary deals turn on reading a target's numbers against where the cycle sits. That read shapes price, conditions and structure, and we scope it from the first call.
Part of Alberta — one provincial deal market, page by page.
Every figure below traces to a named public source — no estimates, no filler.
†Typical patterns across Alberta deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
The same sequence underlies almost every owner-run Calgary deal — what changes from deal to deal is how long each step takes.
Reaching an agreement
Buyer and seller agree on price and key terms, usually informally, before lawyers draft anything binding. We review before you sign — even a "non-binding" LOI can lock in terms you didn't mean to fix.
usually 1–2 weeks†The APS sets out price, structure (asset or share), conditions, and closing date. We draft or review it and negotiate the protections — reps, warranties, holdbacks — that actually matter for your deal.
1–3 weeks to negotiate†Corporate, PPSA lien, litigation, and licence searches confirm what you're actually buying. We chase the seller's lawyer, the registries, and any regulator whose sign-off your deal needs.
2–4 weeks, in parallel†Getting to closing
Landlord, franchisor, lender, and licensing-body sign-offs are chased in parallel with the paperwork. In Calgary the commercial consents — client contracts, prequalification standings and supplier agreements — often matter more than any regulator's, and they get chased with the same discipline.
often the critical path†Funds, keys, and signed documents change hands. We coordinate directly with both sides' lawyers and the lender so nothing is left to a last-minute phone call.
1 day, once conditions are met†Registrations, licence transfers still in progress, and any post-closing deliverables — like a holdback release — get tracked to completion, not left for you to chase.
1–2 week tail†This is the first real decision in almost every deal — and it changes what you're buying, what you're taking on, and how it's taxed.
| Question | Asset purchase | Share purchase |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The business's assets — equipment, inventory, lease, goodwill, name. | The shares of the company itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes. |
| Seller's liabilities | Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation. | Generally come with the company, known and unknown. |
| Tax angle — seller | Straightforward proceeds treatment in most cases. | May qualify for the lifetime capital-gains exemption on qualifying small business shares. |
| Tax angle — buyer | A stepped-up cost base on assets bought; a GST s.167 election may apply. Alberta has no provincial sales tax. | Cost base carries over from the seller — a different position for the buyer. |
| Licences & contracts | Must generally be re-issued or assigned into the buyer's name. | Usually stay in place, since the corporation itself doesn't change. |
| Employees | Employment Standards Code continuity rules typically apply. | Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change. |
| Typical use in Calgary | Most restaurant, retail and single-location service deals — with no provincial sales tax, the Alberta asset-deal math is GST at 5% and a possible s.167 election. | The default for energy-services targets, where safety records, vendor prequalifications and master service agreements live in the corporation and are the value being bought. |
The business's assets — equipment, inventory, lease, goodwill, name.
The shares of the company itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes.
Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation.
Generally come with the company, known and unknown.
Straightforward proceeds treatment in most cases.
May qualify for the lifetime capital-gains exemption on qualifying small business shares.
A stepped-up cost base on assets bought; a GST s.167 election may apply. Alberta has no provincial sales tax.
Cost base carries over from the seller — a different position for the buyer.
Must generally be re-issued or assigned into the buyer's name.
Usually stay in place, since the corporation itself doesn't change.
Employment Standards Code continuity rules typically apply.
Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change.
Most restaurant, retail and single-location service deals — with no provincial sales tax, the Alberta asset-deal math is GST at 5% and a possible s.167 election.
The default for energy-services targets, where safety records, vendor prequalifications and master service agreements live in the corporation and are the value being bought.
We tell you which structure fits — before you sign anything.
Different lists depending on which side of the deal you're on — both matter for how smoothly closing goes.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A café or restaurant, a salon, a franchise unit, or a trades business in Calgary — usually one buyer, one seller.
Start my file →A company with several owners or employees, bank financing, real estate, or a deal that needs negotiated protections before you sign.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
Neighbouring pages in the same regional deal market.
The regional picture — consents, sectors and the full municipal web.
Edmonton's economy includes an industrial and manufacturing base tied to petrochemical processing in the Alberta Industrial Heartland corridor northeast of the city, alongside construction and trades, logistics and warehousing, and franchise-heavy retail and food-service corridors.
Red Deer sits on the QEII corridor roughly midway between Calgary and Edmonton, functioning as a distribution, trucking, and trades hub that serves both metro markets.
Lethbridge anchors southern Alberta's irrigated farm belt and has an agri-food processing base tied to regional agriculture, alongside the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College.
Medicine Hat's economy traces back to its early natural gas discoveries, which drew glass, ceramics, and greenhouse operations that still shape its manufacturing and industrial-trades base today.
Grande Prairie is the commercial hub for Alberta's Peace Region, with an economy oriented around oilfield services, forestry and wood-products services, and agriculture.
Airdrie sits just north of Calgary on Highway 2 and functions largely as a commuter community for Calgary workers, which has driven ongoing residential growth and, alongside it, a retail, food-service, and personal-services economy oriented around local households.
St. Albert is an established, largely residential community adjoining Edmonton, with an economy weighted toward retail, professional services — medical, dental, legal, accounting — and personal services serving local residents rather than heavy industry.
By normalizing, not averaging. A target's peak year tells you what the cycle gave it; diligence asks what the business earns mid-cycle, what its contracts guarantee, and how much of the revenue is tied to one operator's capital program. Price, holdbacks and earn-outs all follow from that read.
Because the value often sits in things that don't move well — safety records, vendor prequalifications, and master service agreements built up over years. Buy the assets and you may be re-earning those from zero; buy the shares and they generally stay in place, with the corporation's history coming along as the trade-off.
Yes — Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so an asset purchase generally attracts only the 5% federal GST, and a s.167 election may take even that off the table on a qualifying going-concern sale. It's a genuinely simpler closing statement than the same deal in BC or Ontario.
It's WCB-Alberta's confirmation that the seller's workers' compensation account is in good standing — and the seller must bring the balance to zero to get it. For buyers of labour-heavy businesses it closes off a real successor exposure, so it's standard on every Calgary purchase we run.
Not automatically — an Alberta liquor licence belongs to the specific licensee, so the buyer typically applies to AGLC in their own name and the purchase agreement is made conditional on approval. We start that conversation at intake so the licence clock and the closing date actually line up.
Alberta's Employment Standards Code treats employment as continuous when staff keep working for the new owner — original start dates carry forward for notice and length-of-service entitlements. That accrued history is part of what you're buying, and it belongs in the price.
| Resource | Official link |
|---|---|
| City of Calgary — changes to your business Licences on a change of owner | Visit www.calgary.ca |
| AGLC — liquor licences Licensed venues | Visit aglc.ca |
| WCB-Alberta — clearance letters Successor-liability protection | Visit www.wcb.ab.ca |
| Alberta Personal Property Registry Lien searches & discharges | Visit www.alberta.ca |
Industries we cover
Nearby
Serving Calgary.
Tell us about your Calgary deal — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.