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Acquisition Agreements Breach of Contract

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Choose Your Words Carefully: Three Recent Earnout Cases Under Delaware Law

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When the prospects of an acquired business are uncertain, an earnout can bridge the valuation gap between buyer and seller and help get the deal done. Taking this route is not without risk, however, particularly where...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Limitations on Good Faith Damages: No Presumption of Loss for Breach of Honest Performance

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In Bhatnagar v. Cresco Labs Inc., 2023 ONCA 401, the Ontario Court of Appeal elaborated on the Supreme Court’s decision in C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger, 2020 SCC 45 (“Callow”) and clarified that a breach of the contractual...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Breach Of Contract Claims Against Buyer, Finding Seller Retained Post-Closing Liability...

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On April 3, 2023, Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook of the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed the breach of contract claims by one pharmaceutical company (the “Seller”) against another (the “Buyer”) in connection with the Buyer’s...more

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP

Yonder Window Breaks: Earnout Covenants in Acquisitions

Earnouts, which provide sellers payouts if certain post-closing milestones are reached, have become increasingly popular in recent M&A transactions given today’s uncertain regulatory and financial climate.  Inflation, supply...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Sandbagging: A Primer

In the 19th century, “ruffians roamed the streets” and robbed “unsuspecting victims” using a tactic knowing as “sandbagging”: They wielded “ostensibly harmless socks” that were in fact “filled with sand and used as weapons.” ...more

J.S. Held

[Webinar] Post-Merger & Acquisition Dispute Resolution - December 7th, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm EST

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Global Investigations expert Frank Lazzara, CPA, CFF, ABV, CFE, and Economic Damages & Valuations expert David Golbahar, CPA, CFF, CGMA, will present a one-hour* course, which will cover: - An overview of purchase price...more

Gray Reed

Delaware Court Provides Clarity Regarding Anti-Bootstrapping Rule

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On January 27, 2022, in Levy Family Investors, LLC v. Oars + Alps LLC the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) released a memorandum opinion providing clarity with regard to Delaware’s infamous “Anti-Bootstrapping Rule”...more

Gray Reed

Delaware: A Confirmed Pro-Sandbagging Jurisdiction

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In an opinion of significance to M&A Practitioners, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently made it clear that Delaware law allows a buyer in an acquisition to “sandbag” a seller if the acquisition agreement allows for...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Grants Motion To Stay Pending Appeal Of Specific Performance Judgment Requiring Completion Of...

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On March 31, 2022, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III of the Delaware Court of Chancery ­granted the motion of CorePower Yoga, LLC and CorePower Yoga Franchising, LLC (together, “defendant”) to stay the Court’s judgment in...more

Jones Day

COVID-19 and Merger Litigation: Takeaways After Two Years

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Before the pandemic, it was generally accepted that establishing an MAE was very difficult—indeed, only one case in Delaware, 2018's Akorn v. Fresenius Kabi, had ever found that an MAE occurred. Following the pandemic, this...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds COVID-19 Pandemic Did Not Excuse Purchaser’s Obligation To Complete Acquisition Of Its...

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On March 1, 2022, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in favor of plaintiff Level 4 Yoga, LLC in a breach of contract action against CorePower Yoga, LLC and CorePower Yoga Franchising,...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

“Commercially Reasonable Best Efforts”: B.C. Court Provides Guidance in Context of Purchase and Sale Contract

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In Sutter Hill Management Corporation v. Mpire Capital Corporation (Sutter), the British Columbia Court of Appeal found that the acquiror of an Abbotsford, B.C. care home had breached the purchase and sale agreement by...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Rules That The Standard Of Proof For Contempt Motions Is The Preponderance Of The Evidence, Not Clear And Convincing...

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inTEAM Associates, LLC v. Heartland Payment Systems, LLC, C.A. No. 11523-VCF (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2021) - Court of Chancery Rule 70(b) empowers the Court to hold a party in contempt for, among other things, failing to obey...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Course Correction: Why “Ordinary Course” Covenants in Acquisition Agreements Should be Drafted Carefully

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Should a buyer be allowed to walk away from an acquisition if an extraordinary event occurs between signing and closing that forces the target company to take emergency remedial measures outside its ordinary course, even if...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Cineplex Awarded $1.24 Billion in Lost Synergies from Failed Cineworld Acquisition: Company’s Pandemic Response Not Out of the...

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In a highly anticipated decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Commercial List held that Cineworld wrongly terminated its arrangement agreement to acquire Cineplex, which was awarded substantial damages....more

White & Case LLP

Notable decisions from Delaware courts

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Williams: Court of Chancery Finds Poison Pill Unenforceable - In February, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a shareholder rights plan (a "poison pill") adopted by The Williams Companies, Inc. at the onset of the...more

Carlton Fields

Damages for Reps and Warranties Breaches

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When one party to an M&A agreement alleges that the other breached its representations and warranties, the damages analysis can be complex, depending on the terms of the agreement. Generally, a claim for indemnification due...more

Carlton Fields

The Perils of Using Baseball Arbitration to Resolve RWI Policy Disputes

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In the world of M&A and private equity deals, buyer-side representation and warranties insurance (RWI) transfers the risk of a seller’s representation to an insurer. To adequately safeguard the insurer, it therefore becomes...more

Carlton Fields

Value Claim: Non-Recurring Impact of Unknown Business or Operational Issue

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RWI valuation claims often arise from a breach of financial statement representation and warranties where the buyer asserts that the transaction was over-valued because prior earnings, on which the purchase price was based,...more

Carlton Fields

Breach vs. Loss

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Does a seller’s breach of representations and warranties in a merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction automatically entitle the buyer to compensation?...more

Carlton Fields

RWI Claims That Keep You Up at Night

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No One Likes a Bad Deal- Sometimes an acquired company’s revenues and earnings decline substantially following an acquisition. The investment is worth less to the new owner and the reputations of the deal team that...more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Explains Contract Reformation Law In Earn-Out Context

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Glidepath Limited v. Beumer Corporation, C.A. No. 1220-VCL (Del. Ch. June 4, 2018) - This decision addresses two contracting parties’ divergent expectations relating to whether a delayed closing affected the agreement’s...more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Favors Plain Language In Earn-Out Dispute And Declines To Imply Contractual Terms

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Greenstar IH Rep. LLC v. Tutor Perini Corporation, C.A. No. 12885-VCS (Oct. 31, 2017) - With every contract under Delaware law comes the obligation to not act so as to deprive the counter party of the benefit of its...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Recent Delaware Case Sets Trap for Unwary Regarding Acquisition Agreement Indemnification Caps

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Acquisition agreements frequently contain maximum limits or “caps” on the sellers’ potential liability for losses resulting from breaches of the sellers’ and target company’s representations and warranties. However, the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Provides Further Insights into the Validity of Anti-Reliance Clauses

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On November 30, 2016, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued another opinion in a growing body of decisions defining the parameters of extra-contractual fraud claims in M&A transactions. In IAC Search LLC v. Conversant LLC,...more

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