- 18 - thereby weakening Bravo. Using the record and our best judgment, we find that Bravo would have lost about one-third of its business (from loss of sales and efficiency due to lost personnel) if Mr. Langdon had reentered the market. (e) The seller's business expertise in the industry. Mr. Langdon had 46 years of experience with every phase of the beer distribution business and had built BDC to be the leading distributor in the region. His expertise cannot be doubted. (f) The seller's relationships with customers, suppliers, and others in the business. Mr. Langdon had cultivated business and personal relationships with his customers and suppliers over many years. It is reasonable to assume they would have been loyal to him. (g) The buyer's interest in eliminating competition. Bravo's need and desire to eliminate competition from Mr. Langdon were clear from the beginning of negotiations. Indeed, the sale was contingent on a strong covenant not to compete. As noted above, there were good reasons for this. Bravo might not have survived if Mr. Langdon had gone into competition with it. (h) The duration and geographic scope of the covenant. Five years was a reasonable length of time to extend the covenant. Mr. Langdon would have been 76 years old by the time it expired and not likely to reenter the market after a 5-year hiatus. The geographic scope of the covenant was alsoPage: Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011