News & Analysis as of

Merger Agreements Fiduciary Duty Board of Directors

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Finds a ~27% Founding Stockholder Is Not a Controller

On July 2, 2024, the Delaware Chancery Court in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca dismissed stockholder claims in connection with the $3 billion merger of Viela Bio and Horizon Therapeutics in 2021. The merger was approved by Viela’s...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Dismisses Aiding And Abetting Fraud Claim Against Corporate Officers And Directors On Grounds That A Corporation...

Morris James LLP on

Urvan v. AMMO, Inc., Consol. C.A. No. 2023-0470 PRW (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2024, corrected Mar. 14, 2024) - It is an axiom of Delaware law that a corporation acts through its human agents. This principle informs the causes of...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

M&A in Brief: Q1 2024

In a letter ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court held that where neither the target nor the acquiror was a Delaware entity, the transaction documents between the parties could not confer jurisdiction in the Chancery Court...more

Hogan Lovells

In re Mindbody Inc., Stockholder Litigation: Court finds unfair sale process

Hogan Lovells on

In re Mindbody Inc., Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2019-0442-KSJM (Del. Ch. Mar. 15, 2023), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a CEO breached his fiduciary duties by taking steps the court found tilted a merger sale...more

Hogan Lovells

Q3 2021 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

Hogan Lovells on

Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the third quarter of 2021. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. The...more

Troutman Pepper

Fraud on the Board II: Conflicted CEO Tilts Company Sale in PE Firm’s Favor

Troutman Pepper on

In In re Mindbody, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims against the chief executive officer of MINDBODY, Inc. (the Company) arising out of the...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Claims that a Minority Owner was a Controlling Stockholder or that a Majority of the Board was...

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In re: Essendant, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2018-0789-JRS (Del. Ch. Dec. 30, 2019). When as here a Delaware corporation’s charter contains an exculpation provision under Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Chancery Court Holds That Well-Pled Unocal Claim Does Not Automatically Excuse Pre-Suit Demand

A&O Shearman on

On May 15, 2017, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed a shareholder derivative action asserting that the directors of The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) breached their duty of...more

McCarter & English, LLP

Delaware Law Updates – Court of Chancery Puts Boards of Directors on Notice that Contracting Away Derivative Claims in a Merger...

Vice Chancellor Glasscock has held that a merger designed to eliminate derivative claims against a majority of directors justified the application of the entire fairness standard of review in a direct challenge to the merger....more

Cooley LLP

Blog: Options to Acquire: How these Creative Acquisition Strategies Differ from a Traditional Purchase

Cooley LLP on

Creative acquisition strategies are offering both buyers and targets additional opportunities to grow their businesses through M&A. One strategy that we are seeing parties use is the “option to acquire” structure, which...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Chancery Court Provides Lessons on Conflicts of Interest in a Sales Process – Holds Only Financial Advisor Open to Liability

In an October 1st decision (In re Zale Corporation), the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed claims that Zale Corporation’s directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with Zale’s agreement to merge with Signet. ...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

M&A Update: Fully Informed Vote of Disinterested Stockholders Results in Business Judgment Rule Protection in Post-Closing Review...

In an October 2, 2015 decision, Corwin, et al. v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC., et al., the Delaware Supreme Court clarified that once a merger closes, as long as it has been approved by a fully informed vote of the...more

Brooks Pierce

Minority Shareholder Owed No Fiduciary Duty To Other Shareholders In Merger Transaction

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Judge Gale's decision earlier this month in Corwin v. British American Tobacco PLC, 2015 NCBC 74 dismissed all of the claims of the Plaintiff class. If the name Corwin is ringing a bell with you, his case is the shareholder...more

Morris James LLP

Del. Justices Reverse Injunction Halting Sale of Control Transaction

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When a Delaware corporation engages in a sale of control transaction, its board's obligation is to obtain the highest value reasonably attainable. This obligation, often referred to as Revlon duties, may be fulfilled as long...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Revlon Does Not Require An Active Market Check, Reverses Lower Court Order Preliminarily...

On December 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Delaware reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery's November decision to preliminarily enjoin for 30 days a vote by C&J Energy Services stockholders on a merger with Nabors Red Lion...more

Bracewell LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Injunction Requiring Thirty Day Go-Shop

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In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery's entry of a preliminary injunction that enjoined C&J Energy Services, Inc. ("C&J") from holding a stockholder vote on its proposed merger with...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

New Delaware Decisions Provide Strong Support for Independent Board Decisions in the Sale of a Company

On December 19, 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court, in C&J Energy Services, Inc. v. City of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust, issued a strongly worded decision refusing to enjoin a change of...more

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