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The electric vehicle company Canoo went public in a de-SPAC transaction in December 2020. After its stock price fell, a stockholder in the SPAC who chose not to redeem his stock sued the SPAC board and its controller for...more
Delaware courts recently issued important decisions that impact M&A dealmakers and lawyers. In this post, we dive into two cases that serve as a reminder that Delaware grounds review of corporate actions in statutory...more
On February 29, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion on Sjunde AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard1 (“Opinion”) that called into question established market practices for mergers, including (i) the process for...more
In 2023, the Delaware courts continued to be called upon to elaborate important rules of corporate law. The year’s docket brought further development in a number of areas, including oversight liability, “busted deal”...more
US Regulators Pursue an Expansive View of Antitrust Laws - For almost two years, industry participants have felt the effects of the Biden administration’s “big is bad” approach to antitrust — not only in technology sectors,...more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division continues to push its aggressive civil and criminal agenda. While the Division has lost several high-profile criminal cases in the chicken processing industry and the labor market,...more
Despite the rules around exclusivity provisions in Australia having been relatively settled for many years (the Panel initially published its Guidance Note 7 on 'Lock-up devices' back in 2001), it's been surprising to see two...more
Editor’s Note: Akin Gump is pleased to publish the first in a series of blog posts covering significant issues U.S. boards of directors may expect to face in 2022. In addition to ongoing pressures on the part of boards of...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
In its recent decision in Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc., Case No. 2020-0444-JRS, 2021 WL 3855514 (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2021) (Slights, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed plaintiff’s breach of contract and other...more
On May 3, 2021, Anthem, Inc. secured its win over Cigna Corp.'s pursuit of a $1.85 billion breakup fee following the collapse of their proposed $54 billion merger. In a brief order, Justice Karen L. Valihura, writing for the...more
Megamergers that deprive the American consumer of competition are illegal. But the urge to merge is often so strong that antitrust risks rarely prevent behemoths from the attempt. Long before parties sign deals, issue press...more
Delaware Supreme Court reinstates case alleging fiduciary breach for failure to disclose CEO’s post-merger compensation discussions. Deal negotiators should take care not to negotiate their own post-closing compensation...more
As we have highlighted in recent alerts, M&A litigation is moving quickly to react and adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a new case filed this week, it appears that lawyers for a spurned acquisition target have taken...more
Several COVID-19-related mergers and acquisitions (M&A) complaints have been filed with the Delaware Court of Chancery since the start of this month, with spurned sellers alleging that buyers experienced a change of heart due...more
We focus on two H2 2019 rulings that could affect M&A transactions in the future. Genuine Parts: Acceptance of termination fee does not prevent further remedies - In September 2019, the Delaware Chancery Court refused to...more
Non-compete clauses are commonly included in M&A agreements. Although generally recognized as lawful, non-competes must fulfill certain requirements to comply with antitrust and competition laws. A recent FTC enforcement...more
As is the case in most merger transactions, both the buyer and seller retain their own counsel. Generally speaking, pre-closing communications between the buyer or seller and their counsel are subject to the attorney-client...more
The first half of 2019 saw several decisions from the Delaware courts that will affect M&A dealmaking - Aruba: Supreme Court awards "deal price less synergies" in closely watched appraisal case - Rejecting the Chancery...more
A common provision in merger agreements is denial of the right of non-parties to the agreement to assert third-party beneficiary claims. The use of this provision left open the question whether stockholders of a disappearing...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently upheld a provision in a merger agreement that prevented the buyer from using privileged emails between the seller and its attorneys in post-closing litigation. The decision, in...more
In Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. RSI Holdco, LLC, No. 2018-0517-KSJM, 2019 WL 2290916 (Del. Ch. May 29, 2019), the Delaware Court of Chancery reaffirmed that a target company may protect its pre-merger privileged...more
In Vintage Rodeo Parent, LLC v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0928-SG (Del. Ch. Mar. 14, 2019), Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery found that Rent-A-Center, Inc. (“Rent-A-Center”) properly...more
In 2018, the Delaware courts issued a broad range of important decisions addressing various corporate law and governance issues. Those decisions are relevant for public and private companies and will help shape...more
Two year-end decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery provide practical guidance for mergers and other transactions, one on the meaning of “commercially reasonable efforts” and other commonly used standards of efforts and...more