Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Palkon v. Maffei, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0449-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), determined that a reduction in the liability exposure of a fiduciary due to the conversion of a Delaware...more
On September 20, 2021, the Delaware Supreme Court took the highly unusual step of overruling its prior decision in Gentile v. Rossette. An oft-criticized precedent from 2006, Gentile created an exception allowing minority...more
In In re HomeFed Corp. Stockholder Litigation (“HomeFed”), the Delaware Court of Chancery considered on a motion to dismiss whether a squeeze-out merger by a controlling stockholder complied with the procedural framework set...more
IN RE DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC. CLASS V STOCKHOLDERS LITIGATION There has been a growing deference in Delaware courts for transactions approved by independent special committees and minority stockholders. In the context of a...more
In a decision of interest to private equity investors, the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) adopted a new framework for determining whether minority stockholders are part of a control group with a separately...more
Under Delaware law, majority or controlling stockholders owe fiduciary duties to the company and its minority stockholders. Under certain circumstances, however, a stockholder that owns less than 50 percent of the company’s...more
On March 19, 2019 a law initiative of Senator Ricardo Monreal Ávila was published in the Parliamentary Gazette of the Senate with a decree project, by means of which certain provisions of the Federal Civil Proceedings Code...more
In re Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0058-JTL (Del. Ch. Mar. 15, 2019). Stockholders that control Delaware corporations find themselves subject to fiduciary duties. According to this...more
In Flood v. Synutra Int’l, Inc., No. 101, 2018, 2018 Del. LEXIS 460 (Del. Oct. 9, 2018), the Delaware Supreme Court (Strine, C.J.) held that a controlling stockholder who pursues a merger with the controlled company will have...more
In another significant M&A decision from the New York Supreme Court, the controlling stockholder of a Delaware corporation failed to obtain judicial deference under the so-called "MFW" framework for its merger with the...more
In two recent cases, the Delaware Court of Chancery provided informative guidance on when stockholders that hold less than 50% of a corporation’s stock are nevertheless considered to be controlling stockholders. This inquiry...more
On March 28, 2018, in In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by stockholders of Tesla Motors, Inc. (“Tesla” or the “Company”)....more
In re Tesla Motors Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 12711-VCS (Del. Ch. Mar. 28, 2018) - Under Delaware law, a controlling stockholder need not be a majority stockholder. Rather, a controlling stockholder might be a...more
On February 2, 2018, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a stockholder challenge to the buyout of Synutra International Inc. (“Synutra”) in a squeeze-out merger by a controlling...more
A transaction involving a controlling stockholder on both sides of the deal presents a clear conflict of interest that will result in heightened scrutiny under the “entire fairness” standard of review if later challenged....more
Chelsea Therapeutics: Post-Closing Bad Faith Claim a ‘Rare Bird’ in Delaware Absent Allegations of Self-Interestedness or Lack of Independence - In In re Chelsea Therapeutics International LTD Stockholders Litigation,...more
This is another in a series of decisions dealing with the allegation that a minority stockholder controlled a deal through its control of a majority of the board of directors....more
In just the past three months, the Delaware Court of Chancery has issued four opinions (In re KKR Financial Holdings LLC Shareholder Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 9210-CB; In re Crimson Exploration Stockholder Litigation, C.A....more
The New York Appellate Division, First Department, ruled Thursday that the business-judgment rule – not the entire-fairness standard of review – can apply to a going-private transaction with the majority shareholder where the...more
In In re Orchard Enterprises, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the entire fairness standard of review applied to a going-private transaction with a controlling stockholder, even though the...more
In this issue: - Delaware Court of Chancery Rules That a Major Debt Holder and 48 Percent Stockholder Is a Controlling Stockholder and Owes Fiduciary Duties to Minority Stockholders - Delaware Court of Chancery...more
When a controlling stockholder’s buyout of a company has been challenged by minority stockholders, Delaware courts have generally subjected the transaction to entire fairness review, the most rigorous standard of review in...more
In Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp., the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision that the more deferential business judgment rule standard of review, rather than an entire fairness standard of...more
For majority stockholders in Delaware companies, the complications and added expenses often caused by minority stockholders may result in a decision to buy out that minority, simplify the company’s capital structure and...more
On March 14, 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court issued its eagerly-awaited decision in Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp., No. 334, 2013 (Del. March 14, 2014). The Court affirmed the Chancery Court's holding (Strine, C.) that the...more