Danh Nguyen

Danh’s client was an equal shareholder in a company that operated a dental practice. The client planned to take early retirement, so wanted an exit strategy and to sell his shares for $3.7 million. Since the other shareholder didn’t have enough experience to operate the business on his own and couldn’t afford to pay the $3.7 million, Danh structured an ‘earn-out’ arrangement that ensured the sale could go ahead with conditions. It stipulated that the other shareholder paid $2 million to Danh’s client up front and the remainder over five years, contingent on the performance of the business. Danh’s client was delighted with this result as it ensured he could sell a large portion of his shares immediately, while achieving an exit strategy that worked for both parties.

Danh’s client owned successful Brisbane-based IT consulting firm, IT2U. The business had recently won a tender to provide IT services to a big Hong Kong consulting firm, so they approached Danh to assist with the company’s expansion to Hong Kong and other countries within the next five years.

Taking into consideration common international tax issues, Danh designed a tax effective and flexible corporate structure that included corporate tax residency, a controlled foreign company, transfer pricing and double tax agreements. It was flexible enough to allow for a multi-million dollar sell down to private equity and then Initial Public Offering (worth a further $10 – 15 million), helping to future-proof the client’s business.