A workbook for junior lawyers · English law
M&A Foundations
A plain-English workbook on how private M&A deals really work — from the first confidential call to the moment the money moves. Built around one fictional transaction, Project Sunrise, with a complete Share Purchase Agreement you can read alongside every chapter.
How this workbook works
Written for junior lawyers wherever they sit — in a law firm or in-house. Plenty of buyers run deals end-to-end with their internal legal team, and everything in this workbook applies on both sides of that fence.
Read
Each chapter explains one part of the deal in plain English — no assumed knowledge, every term defined the first time it appears, with examples from fintech, payments and brokerage.
See it in a real contract
Concepts are anchored to specific clauses of the Project Sunrise SPA. When a chapter mentions, say, the locked box, one click takes you to the exact clause.
Test yourself
Every chapter ends with a 10-question test (pass mark 8). Finish the workbook with a 40-question final exam. Your progress is saved in this browser.
The case study: Project Sunrise
Every example in this workbook draws on one fictional deal, so the pieces connect:
Because Solaris is a regulated crypto-asset service provider, the deal signs first and completes only after the Central Bank of Ireland approves the change of ownership — which lets us study everything from regulatory conditions to what happens in the gap between signing and closing. The full Share Purchase Agreement is on this site, and chapters link straight into its clauses.
The modules
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Finance Deals & Syndicated Lending
How Atlas borrowed the money for this very deal — syndicated lending on the market-standard architecture, with its own training facility agreement.
Security & Collateral
Charges, share pledges, debentures and the rest of the lender's toolkit. Coming soon.
Legal Due Diligence
The deep-dive version of Chapter 7 — the full Sunrise investigation, with the complete red-flag DD report.