# Training after an acquisition: hand over what the seller knows

Training after an acquisition starts with a seller knowledge register: what the seller and key people know, who holds it, when they are available and who takes it over. This page is for buyers, investors and holding groups who plan that handover before and right after closing. It shows what to collect, what to record and who signs each handover.

## Who this is for

Deal and operating teams at funds, holding groups and other buyers of companies across industries. The page covers the time from the letter of intent to the end of the seller's transition period. It fits when the business runs on what a few people know and the seller has agreed to help hand it over. The shared portfolio standard is a later step, covered on the private equity page.

## What changes after an acquisition

At closing, the seller's knowledge gets an end date. The seller has agreed to help for a transition period, and key people may or may not stay. What they know about pricing, suppliers, scheduling and difficult customers must move to named people inside that window. A register turns that risk into a list the buyer can track row by row.

A seller knowledge register: one row per knowledge area

| Field | What it records |
|---|---|
| Knowledge area | A task or decision, such as pricing a large job or settling a supplier dispute |
| Holder | The seller or key person who knows it today |
| Available until | The last date that person has agreed to help |
| Successor | The named person who takes the area over |
| Handover criterion | What the successor must show, observed by a person |
| Signed off by | Who confirms that the row is closed |

## How Elvina works across companies

In a pilot, the register and its sources sit in Company Knowledge for the bought company only, apart from the buyer's other companies. Nothing enters Elvina before the deal allows it. Today our team runs most of the work on the platform, and Elvina takes on each step as it is confirmed.

- Before closing: the deal team drafts the register with knowledge areas, existing documents, holders and the dates each holder is available
- In the first 30 days: holders record how they handle real cases, and Creation Studio drafts lessons and job aids for each successor
- Sign-off: the holder checks the facts, the company's approver releases the lessons in the Learning Platform, and the buyer's lead closes the row

## A worked example

A fictional holding company that owns two party and event rental businesses agrees to buy a third. The founder will help for a transition period, and she is the only person who prices large weddings and settles damage disputes.

- Before closing, the deal team lists six knowledge areas, from wedding pricing to supplier accounts, with her last available date on each row
- In the first 30 days, she records how she prices two real events, and Creation Studio drafts lessons for the sales lead who takes pricing over
- The handover criterion for pricing is a live quote the sales lead prepares alone, which the founder reviews and accepts
- The founder checks each lesson, the company's operations lead approves it, and the holding company's lead closes the row

## What we need from you

We need a lead who owns the register and a named successor for each knowledge area. The seller must agree to take part during the transition period, and the acquired company needs a named approver. Before the first recording, we agree in writing what the buyer may see of that company's training data.

## What we do not promise yet

We do not draft or interpret deal documents, and we do not promise that a seller or key employee will stay or cooperate. Elvina does not assess people for retention or staffing decisions. Integration timelines and portfolio terms are not published here; they are discussed separately with each partner. Separate company spaces and a buyer-level view of the register are set up in the pilot, not offered as finished features.

## Questions people ask

**Q:** How should training work after an acquisition?

Start from a seller knowledge register. List what the seller and key people know, until when each of them is available, who takes each area over and how the handover is checked. Then record and train against that list, and close each row only when a named person signs it off.

**Q:** What goes into a seller knowledge register?

Use one row per knowledge area. Each row names the task or decision, who holds it today, the date they can help until, the successor, the handover criterion and who signs it off. Keep the list short enough that the lead can review it every week.

**Q:** What should a buyer collect before closing?

Whatever the deal process allows: the list of knowledge areas, the documents that already exist and each holder's available dates. Recordings and lessons usually wait until after closing, when staff can take part openly.

**Q:** Is this the same as integrating teams after a merger?

Close, but the view differs. Merger integration inside a company is about which procedures stayed and which changed. This page covers the buyer's handover of one company's knowledge, row by row, before anyone changes procedures.