What is the deadline for Chatime to provide an Acceptance Notice after receiving an Offer Notice from the franchisee?
Chatime Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
or units,
Franchisee must first offer to sell the Franchised Business to Franchisor on the same terms as any offer Franchisee has received from an arm's length third party (Third Party Offer) by giving to Franchisor a written notice (Offer Notice) setting out the terms and conditions of the Third Party Offer.
- (2) Franchisor may accept the offer contained in the Offer Notice by giving notice of acceptance (Acceptance Notice) to Franchisee before the end of the Offer Period.
- (3) For the purpose of this clause 13.4, "Offer Period" means the period of 45 days after Franchisor receives the Offer Notice.
- (4) The Acceptance Notice may contain terms which vary the terms of the Offer Notice so long as the terms upon which Franchisor agrees to buy the Business are not commercially less favorable to Franchisee than those contained in the Offer Notice.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 58–262)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chatime's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee wishes to sell their business and receives an offer from a third party, they must first provide Chatime with a written Offer Notice detailing the terms of the third-party offer. Chatime then has a specific timeframe to respond with an Acceptance Notice if they wish to purchase the business themselves.
The deadline for Chatime to provide this Acceptance Notice is within the Offer Period, which is defined as 45 days after Chatime receives the Offer Notice from the franchisee. This means that Chatime must formally notify the franchisee of their decision to accept or decline the offer within this 45-day window.
If Chatime does not accept the offer within the 45-day Offer Period, the franchisee is then entitled to proceed with selling the business to the third party, provided that the sale occurs within 60 days after the end of the Offer Period and the terms are no less favorable than those presented to Chatime in the Offer Notice. This clause ensures the franchisee can pursue other opportunities if Chatime does not exercise its right of first refusal in a timely manner.