001
Technology
Cross-border platform acquisition
01 — Context
Context
An independent platform used by illustrators and motion designers across Europe received an acquisition approach from a larger group. The founders wanted to keep the product’s character, and its creator-friendly terms, intact.
02 — Challenge
Challenge
Three jurisdictions, two sets of creator licences and a codebase assembled over eight years. The buyer’s standard terms treated every creator contribution as a transferable asset; the platform’s own terms said otherwise.
03 — Position
Position
We separated what the company owned from what its community licensed, and built the transaction around that line. Creator terms were treated as a condition of closing rather than a promise made afterwards.
04 — Outcome
Outcome
The acquisition closed with the licence structure intact and a governance clause protecting creator terms for a defined period. Both sides agreed a single plain-language summary for the community.
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Cases