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Controlling Stockholders Standard of Review

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds That Corwin Cleansing Applies To Claims Related To Reduction Of Acquisition Price

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On June 21, 2024, Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss a putative stockholder class action asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims against the officers and directors...more

Mayer Brown

In re Match Group, Inc.: Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Controlling Stockholder Transactions

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In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court clarified the proper standard to apply to a non-freeze-out merger transaction involving a controlling stockholder. Litigators who practice in the Delaware Court of Chancery are...more

Troutman Pepper

Delaware Supreme Court Confirms Dual MFW Protections Are Needed Outside of the Freeze-Out Merger Context for Application of...

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In In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Supreme Court held that the dual procedural protections announced in the seminal case of Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp. (MFW) are required in order to shift the...more

Lathrop GPM

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Conflicted Stockholder Transactions with In re Match Group Opinion

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On April 4, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued its opinion in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, clarifying that the heightened entire fairness standard of review applies to judicial review of any transaction...more

Morgan Lewis

Delaware Supreme Court Holds MFW Doctrine Applies to Any Controlling Stockholder Transaction Resulting in Non-Ratable Benefit

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In a case with implications for companies with controlling stockholders, the Delaware Supreme Court held that the MWF Doctrine applies to any transaction involving a controlling shareholder receiving a non-ratable benefit,...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Identifies Fiduciary Duties and Standard of Review for Controlling Stockholder

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In a landmark decision, In re Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores, Inc. Stockholder Litigation,1 the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a controlling stockholder did not breach his fiduciary duties when he amended company bylaws...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds That Corwin Cleansing Does Not Apply To Claims For Injunctive Relief Related To Alleged Defensive...

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On May 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a putative stockholder class action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the directors of a...more

A&O Shearman

Pair Of Delaware Chancery Court Decisions Deny Motions To Dismiss SPAC Shareholder’s Fiduciary Breach Claims, Following MultiPlan

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On January 4, 2023, and again on March 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied motions to dismiss claims against directors and controlling shareholders of GigCapital-affiliated special...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Life May Not Be Fair, But Interested Party Transactions Should Be

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When a court reviews contested business transactions of a Delaware corporation, they typically rely on one of two standards of review: the “business judgment rule” or the “entire fairness standard.” The business judgment rule...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds That Company And Its Directors Did Not Breach Bylaws Or Fiduciary Duties In Rejecting Director...

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On February 14, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery entered judgment in favor of Lee Enterprises, Inc. (the “Company”) and its directors following an expedited trial on claims for breach of...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Delaware Court Applies Entire Fairness Standard to MultiPlan de-SPAC

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The decision adopts enhanced scrutiny of director fiduciary duties for de-SPAC transactions, but suggests dismissal may be appropriate when stockholders exercise redemption rights on a fully informed basis. On January 3,...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Sustains Class Action Claims For Breaches Of Fiduciary Duties And Aiding And Abetting Arising From...

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On January 3, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery largely denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by the stockholders of Churchill Capital Corp. III, a special purpose...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Challenge To Board’s Enforcement Of Advance Notice Bylaw

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On October 13, 2021, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a request for injunctive relief in a stockholder action against the board of CytoDyn (the “Company”).  Rosenbaum v. Cyotodyn...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Recent MFW-Related Developments in Delaware Courts

In 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court’s landmark Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp.1 (MFW) decision established that the deferential business judgment standard of review could apply to controlling stockholder “squeeze-out” mergers...more

Morris James LLP

Entire Fairness Standard Applies Where Controller Has Substantive Discussions with Minority Stockholders before Agreeing to MFW...

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In re HomeFed Corporation Stockholder Litigation, C.A. 2019-0592-AGB (Del. Ch. July 13, 2020) - This case illustrates that the Court of Chancery will apply the entire fairness standard to review a squeeze-out merger by a...more

Troutman Pepper

Ab Initio 2.0: Even Without a Controller, Special Committees Must Be Formed Before Economic Negotiations Begin

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On February 27, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued important guidance to boards of directors seeking to utilize special committees of disinterested and independent directors to insulate themselves from fiduciary liability...more

Troutman Pepper

Delaware Standards of Review

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In the context of an M&A transaction, practitioners are routinely left to navigate the various standards of review that are applied by the Delaware courts to evaluate whether a Delaware corporation’s directors have complied...more

Jones Day

Chancery Court Requires Entire Fairness Review of Tesla CEO Compensation

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The Background: A shareholder challenged an extraordinary and extremely lucrative incentive-based compensation package awarded by Tesla to its chair, CEO, and controlling shareholder, claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. ...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies When “Substantive Economic Negotiations” Begin under MFW Framework

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In the latest Delaware decision to expound MFW and the structuring of controller transactions, the Delaware Supreme Court clarified the requirement for a controlling stockholder to condition its offer “up front” on MFW’s dual...more

White and Williams LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Opens Discussion of Enhanced-Independence Director Deference for Controller Transactions

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Delaware courts evaluate a self-dealing transaction with a controlling stockholder through the lens of entire fairness — meaning that both the deal process and price must be deemed fair. The burden of proving entire fairness...more

Locke Lord LLP

Controlling Stockholder Transactions: Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies When It Is Too Late for Business Judgment Review

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In Olenik v. Lodzinski, the Delaware Supreme Court found that the conditions required for business judgment review of a controlling stockholder transaction under the MFW standard were not in place “at the outset” of the...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Rejects MFW Defense Because of Delay in Safeguards

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Olenik v. Lodzinksi, No. 392, 2018 (Del. Apr. 5, 2019). Under Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014), deferential business judgment review governs mergers between a controlling stockholder and the controlled...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Rules Controlling Stockholder Gave Implied Consent to Personal Jurisdiction in Delaware on Basis of...

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In a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for private equity sponsors and other controlling stockholders, the Delaware Court of Chancery expanded the potential for liability for foreign-based controllers by...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Delaware Corporation Law: Trends Impacting M&A and Corporate Litigation in 2019

On February 20, 2019, Skadden held a webinar titled “2019 M&A and Corporate Litigation Trends.” The panelists were litigation partner and Delaware litigation practice leader Edward Micheletti and litigation counsel Jenness...more

White & Case LLP

Peak performance: US M&A in 2018: Deal changing decisions from Delaware

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In the second half of 2018, the Delaware courts once again produced decisions that will guide M&A transactions in the future. Three cases affecting US M&A stood out in 2018....more

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