9 International Rules How to Write a Change of Ownership Letter

Changing an owner is oftentimes a very serious step for any business that requires proper attention and an appropriate approach. Any kind of change is often met with some kind of resistance by people. We either don’t want to accept the new rules or feel uncomfortable that somebody else dictates them. Still, preventing such resistance is possible if the change is announced in a friendly and reasonable way. Changing business ownership is certainly not an exception, exactly because of its formal nature and the means used. While there’s no specific standard for writing the change of business ownership letters to employees, there are several common strategies used widely in a civilized world that work.

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In fact, business owners can be announced officially only through the use of the corresponding emails sent out to employees sometime before the actual change happens. Aside from being necessary, the letters announcing the change of business ownership are also in high demand due to the multitude of ways they can be approached.

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Although they are quite formal, change of business ownership letters sent to employees of the company can be written in many ways. Just like with change of ownership letters sent out to the clients, these are rather crafted than they are simply written. To approach them, the writer must use their empathy at its best and try to align with the feeling an employee might have after opening the email. Of course, there’s no such thing as a universal approach that would fit the corporate style of every company.

Yet, there are a few components that will tell your employees that the change that you’re about to bring about will certainly not affect their lives negatively. They work for a number of companies in Europe and across the Americas, so they should work for you too.

9 Tips for Writing a Change of Ownership Letter to Employees

  1. Ensure the topic of your letter is noticeable. You want to bring the important news, after all. The topic has to be short enough to completely fit into your employees’ inbox. At the same time, it must clearly articulate what you’re about to say. So, it doesn’t have to be all caps, but shouldn’t also be regularly capitalized, or it might get unnoticed.
  2. Adjust the letter to your general corporate style. It’s pretty likely that you already have some kind of newsletter in your company. It can tell the employees about the latest dynamics across various departments in the company or sum up the news in the industry. Now, when it comes to the style and address of such a letter, it should definitely be no different. When employees see something familiar, their immediate reaction will not be negative at least. And if your newsletter is friendly and a bit informal at times, that’s perfect, as the change of ownership letter will be taken with a similar level of chill.
  3. Express gratitude to your employees right from the start. In case this doesn’t conflict with the general style of your newsletters, say thanks to your employees for their hard work, dedication, and loyalty. After all, they are the ones who ensure that your business gets all the fortunes it gets. Such a start will comfort your employees beforehand in case they will get concerned by the end of the letter. And if they don’t, they’ll totally get cheered up from knowing that you value them for who they are.
  4. Don’t get too long with the previous two points. There is a reason to consider including those points, but there’s certainly no reason to go overly expressive over there. Your employees might simply get bored and inattentive and find out about the change of ownership later from their more patient and attentive colleagues. And that’s something we want to avoid, right?
  5. Cut straight to the chase. After a brief introduction and gratitude, go on by telling your employees the news. They’re going to have a new boss. That doesn’t mean you immediately become unreachable. Make sure they know that as well as all other important details regarding the process of the ownership transfer.
  6. Provide information about the new owners of the business. In order for your employees not to get an immediate negative reaction, make sure to present the new business owner as someone who knows what they’re doing and that they will take great care of the company. You won’t be transferring the ownership of the company to someone you don’t like yourself, now, would you?
  7. Set the time frame. Another important thing your employees totally deserve to know is when the ownership transfer finally takes place. Giving them a clear prior notice is absolutely natural, so don’t forget about this one for sure.
  8. Announce and explain all other possible changes. Those could include changes to the corporate policy, organizational changes, and other minor changes like the newsletter schedule. These changes usually cannot be committed while you’re still in charge, so make sure to explain this to the employees as well, and don’t forget about reminding them about the timeframe.
  9. Saying goodbye. The final part of the letter is when you say thanks one more time, put your signature, and let your employees process the information. You’ve done everything you could and wanted up till this point, so there’s nothing more to add here.

Change of Ownership Letter Sample

After combining all the elements above, you’ll get a result looking something like this.


Dearest Martha,

I wish you a good day and hope you’re doing well! First, I would like to thank you for all the service you’ve done to the company. It’s been an honor to work with you this whole time, and I hope your partnership with the company will last many more years.

I am writing this letter to bring you the notice of the change in the ownership of the company from Crackers, Las Vegas, NV to Snackers, Las Vegas, NV. The change is to take effect from 10/01/2021.

There will be no change in the policies or the structure of management as of 10/01/2021 and should any come, they will be communicated immediately.

You have been valuable to us and will remain so, and we take pride in the promise to keep the trust going.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

Derek Johns,

Owner of Crackers


The Art of Spilling the Beans

A woman writing a change of ownerhip letter
Writing a change-of-ownership letter

Surely, telling your employees that you’re not their boss anymore and that they are going to have a new one is heavy. Even heavier can be telling them that they might have new rules established after some time, and those rules might not be something they’ll enjoy. Still, it’s something you have to say and must do so in a clear and most positive manner. And there are so many ways you can approach that. As you manage to accomplish that, you have more chances to transfer your business to the new owners nominally untouched, safe, and sound.


Andrew Mazur

Andrew’s career path knows no boundaries. Aside from writing pieces of advice for entrepreneurs and their businesses, he is also a contributor to TheWordPoint's international patent translation services, as well as an experienced motivational speaker. If there is a piece of advice Andrew provides to his readers, he knows for sure, it’s valuable and credible.



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