If a company buys out another company and they merge, am I correct that the old owner who sold the company has the money owing my company and that I can only go after the old owner who signed the credit application for the money? Or, is it true that since it was a merger, I should contact the company still in business and assume they carry the old debt and try to collect from them? Better yet, can I decide not to sell to them until the old debt is satisfied?

Answer: If the acquiring company acquired the stock of your customer, they owe you the money since they acquired both assets and liabilities. If there was a bulk sale and the acquiring company purchased assets only, then your recourse is against the owner of the company that was sold – assuming it was not incorporated. You can choose not to sell to any customer you want to as long as the decision is not based on unlawful factors such as race, age, religion, gender, etc. This may be a situation in which you will want to contact an attorney for legal advice.