Company liquidations usually signal the end of a company.
A true company liquidation involves closing the business
or company, ending the business itself, and the sale of
all its assets. You can do it as part of a bankruptcy proceeding
or simply as a way to close the business and wrap up all
business dealings.
You will also hear experts call company liquidation a “dissolution” or
a “winding up”. All these terms refer to the
same thing – the end of the company.
Company Liquidation Not a Simple Process
It sounds like a simple idea – you close your business
or store, and sell the contents, make a few dollars, pay
some bills, get your ball and go home. But company liquidation
is not that simple a process. Depending on the size of
the company and the circumstances under which it is closing,
it can be very short or quite long.
It’s not uncommon for company liquidation sales,
for example, to continue for months. If the company is
going bankrupt, the process can usually take a bit longer
than if the company is voluntarily selling assets as a
way to close the company.
Usually, the idea behind company liquidation is converting
assets to cash. You then use the cash to pay bills, help
pay debts under your company’s bankruptcy, or to
take home a few dollars from a failed venture.
Sometimes a court of law requires a company liquidation.
This happens under several different circumstances. For
example, a company is a publicly held and has not been
issued a trading certificate within 12 months. On the other
hand, the court can force liquidation if a company is an “old
public company.” In a third case, the court can require
it if a company has not carried out any business transactions
within a year of its incorporation. Another situation is
when the company is unable to pay its own debts (and likely
has filed bankruptcy). Finally, the court may force it
if it’s considered a just and decent way for the
company to end its business life.
Generally speaking, most compulsory company liquidations
are due to either the company being unable to pay its debts,
or the court considers it the best way to shut the company
down. Only occasionally do the other circumstances come
into play.
Company liquidations can also be voluntary, in the case
where members of the company or the owners decide to liquidate
it. Often business continues as usual during the company
liquidation in this case.
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