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
Cases on Material Adverse Effect (“MAE”) clauses (also known as Material Adverse Change, or MAC, clauses) rarely come before the English courts, so there are limited English authorities on their construction. The High Court...more
Over the past 15+ years covered by the ABA studies, materiality scrapes have morphed from being a somewhat uncommon provision, seen in about 14% of transactions in 2005, to something near-ubiquitous in M&A purchase...more
In what seems like one of the speediest transaction processes ever for a deal of its size, Twitter agreed on April 25, 2022 to be acquired by Elon Musk for $54.20 per share or about $44 billion. It all started with Musk...more
The American Bar Association (ABA) 2020 – 2021 Private Target Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Points Study[1] analyzed publicly available acquisition agreements for 123 transactions executed and/or completed in 2020 and the first...more
Recent Delaware cases appear to make two things clear. First, it remains extremely unlikely that a court will find an event or occurrence to fall within the general provisions of a Material Adverse Effect condition and as a...more
In AB Stable VIII LLC v. Maps Hotel and Resorts One LLC et al., the Delaware Court of Chancery has published its first ruling regarding whether or not the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic constitute a material adverse effect...more
Below is our Quarterly Corporate / M&A Decisions Update for decisions in Q4 2020. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. Brief summaries of...more
In late November of last year, the Court of Chancery in Delaware handed down a decision in a case called AB Stable VIII LLC v. MAPS Hotels and Resorts One, LLC ...more
On November 30, 2020, Vice Chancellor Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery issued the first case where the pandemic provided a company with the ability to walk away from its contractual obligations in a sale transaction,...more
Market Trends: What You Need to Know - Over the past almost 15 years covered by the ABA studies, materiality scrapes have morphed from being a somewhat uncommon provision, seen in about 14% of transactions in 2005, to...more
It was a whirlwind affair. The Manhattan socialite and the sophisticated Parisian. Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: “TIF”) and LVMH, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC: “LVMUY”), announced their engagement, via joint press release, on...more
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the uncertainty surrounding its long-term implications have caused a noticeable disruption in the consummation of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions....more
It is readily apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on transactional activity—at least in the short term—for both buyers and sellers across a range of industries. Whether parties are still moving forward with...more
In Channel Medsystems, Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corporation, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected an attempt by Boston Scientific to terminate and thus avoid consummating a merger agreement with Channel on the grounds...more