contract "options" are indeed normal. You could also lump in government contracts into the category your thinking about. I've never heard of a scenario where the vendor broke contract by not honoring the options. I also have never dealt with a vendor getting bought out and then not honoring existing contracts. Super fun to watch the corporate drama. I personally don't care for the private equity style business that seems to be an even bigger problem than the investor first/profit centric model that I thought was the worst thing.