An exclusivity agreement is a written agreement in which two or more parties agree to have business dealings only with one another, to the exclusion of third parties. Exclusivity agreements can span days or years, depending on the area of law involved. They can also be bilateral or unilateral.The majority of exclusivity agreements are found in the commercial buyer-seller relationship, in mergers and acquisitions, and in real estate.

In commerce:
• Usually used to restrict the buyer from buying from only one seller, such as Ford having to buy all its steel from only US Steel.
• Can happen in reverse, where US Steel must sell all its steel only to Ford, but less common.
• Agreements can last months, even years.

In mergers and acquisitions:
• Used to focus two parties on their potential merger, to exclude other partners/targets.
• Span the discussion phase, usually a few weeks or months.
• Allow for access to files, so due diligence can occur.
• Parties are exclusive with one another, but no agreement to consummate a deal.
• Termination-expiration or one party terminates early, when deal is not likely.
• Includes provisions to refrain from making decisions that materially change business during the exclusion period.

In real estate:
• Called Exclusive Listing Agreements.
• Homeowner grants only one realtor (or company) access to home and sale-homeowner “locked in.”
• One catch-homeowner can cancel agreement, but realtor may still get commission if house sells within 30 days of cancellation.

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