Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Will COVID-19 Qualify as a ‘Material Adverse Effect’?
MAE Clauses: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Litigation Podcast Series
On July 9, 2021, the Delaware Court of Chancery (Slights, V.C.) issued an opinion in Bardy Diagnostics, Inc. v. Hill-Rom, Inc., No. 2021-0175-JRS, concluding that the requirements of a “material adverse effect” (“MAE”) clause...more
Summary: - A perfect storm of facts in Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG et al. allowed the Delaware Chancery Court to conclude that Fresenius could properly terminate its obligations to acquire Akorn without liability,...more
In Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG, the Delaware Chancery Court held that Fresenius, a German pharmaceutical company, was justified in invoking a “material adverse event” (MAE) clause to terminate its $4.8 billion merger...more
A Delaware Chancery Court has allowed a buyer to cancel a deal based on a material adverse effect. The decision is believed to be the first of its kind in Delaware. In Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG, the Delaware Court...more
Purchasers of businesses often want an "escape hatch" prior to closing if the target business suffers a "material adverse change" (or a "material adverse effect"). Historically, based on court decisions primarily out of the...more
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled post-trial that Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (“Fresenius”) properly terminated its $4.3 billion agreement to acquire Akorn,...more
In a recent high-profile decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery excused a buyer from its obligation to purchase a public company target on the basis that, among other things, the target company had suffered a material...more