Book excerpt: Written by an experienced M&A practitioner, M&A and Private Equity Confidentiality Agreements Line by Line brings to market the definitive and most comprehensive coverage to date of the confidentiality agreement process in the M&A and private equity settings, making it a critical resource for practitioners in the legal, business, and financial professions. Offering in-depth explanations of each clause as well as practical advice on negotiations, this book covers every key topic in a confidentiality agreement, including limitations on sharing of information, standstill provisions, and non-solicit clauses among many others. This book also provides readers with sample language for each clause and a discussion of each sides likely reaction and counter-reaction, drawn from real-world negotiations.