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Hogan Lovells

No breach of fiduciary duty where directors approved merger that stripped common stock of its value

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In Jacobs v. Akademos, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled that a cash-out merger that provided common shareholders in a privately held corporation, Akademos, Inc., with no value was nonetheless entirely fair. This decision...more

Benesch

Delaware Amends DGCL Section 144 to Add Safe Harbors for Interested and Controlling Stockholder Transactions

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On March 25, 2025, the governor of Delaware signed into law significant changes to Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). The changes provide safe harbors to Boards of Directors and controlling...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

SB21: Delaware Responds In The DExit Battle

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The annual DGCL amendments this year carry a little more urgency than before. SB21 was rushed through to the Delaware Senate in mid-February, bypassing the normal process that involves recommendation by the Council of the...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

OpenAI's Governance Overhaul to Prevent Hostile Takeover

Strengthening Board Control - OpenAI is exploring governance changes that would grant its nonprofit board enhanced voting rights to prevent a hostile takeover by Elon Musk. This move follows Musk’s $97.4 billion bid, which...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Proposes Significant Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

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On February 17, 2025, Senate Bill No. 21 was introduced in the Delaware State Senate to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL)....more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Delaware Supreme Court Confirms “Potential” Control is Not Enough to Find Actual Control

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In an opinion late last month, the Delaware Supreme Court brought a close to the long-running shareholder litigation regarding Oracle’s 2016 purchase of NetSuite. The decision provides instruction for how significant minority...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

I Want You to Want Me. But I Don’t Need You to Need Me: Manti Holdings v. The Carlyle Group and the Meaning of Non-Ratable Benefit...

Delaware’s rigorous fairness standards for transactions involving controlling shareholders have recently come to the forefront of the Chancery Court’s docket. The Transaction...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Challenges to Sale of Company by Private Equity Controller, Assesses Transaction Under Business...

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On January 7, 2025, Vice Chancellor Glasscock issued a 68-page post-trial decision in Manti Holdings, LLC v. The Carlyle Group Inc., in which he rejected plaintiffs’ claims of breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - December 2024

In this issue, we explore ongoing corporate law issues involving controlling stockholders, with significant decisions anticipated from the Delaware Supreme Court in 2025; the rise in litigation over earnout provisions in...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

How Long Is Too Long? Activists Continue To Target Director Tenure

U.S. activism remained elevated through the third quarter of 2024, with board refreshment a consistent demand by activists year after year. Central to the activists’ demands for board refreshment is director tenure....more

Hogan Lovells

Q2 2024 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

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Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the second quarter of 2024. Decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery this quarter included further development of the jurisprudence around the validity...more

Carey Olsen

Insurance M&A: Bermuda’s change of control requirements

Carey Olsen on

This article, the first in a multi-part series on M&A in insurance, considers the change of control regime under the Bermuda Insurance Act 1978 (the “Insurance Act”) as it applies to shareholder controllers of Bermuda...more

Cooley LLP

13 Top Considerations for Tackling a Merger of Equals Transaction Like a Mastermind

Cooley LLP on

Just like the romantic union of global pop superstar Taylor Swift and Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce, in the business world, combinations of similarly sized companies – or so-called mergers of equals – can yield positive...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Rejects The "Uncontrollable Child" Theory Of Parent-Subsidiary Relationships

Allen Matkins on

Nevada famously limits directors and officers from personal liability.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that Nevada is a "liability free" jurisdiction.  For example, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held that...more

Ankura

The Evolving Role of the PortCo CFO

Ankura on

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays a critical role in orchestrating the financial strategy of the company. With massive amounts of capital stockpiled by private equity (PE) firms and ready to be deployed, the demand for...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Clarity for M&A Practitioners: Proposed DGCL Amendments Bridge the Gap between Recent Delaware Chancery Court Decisions and Market...

The proposed amendments would address recent case law decisions in Activision, Moelis and Crispo that uprooted well-established market practice with respect to the enforceability of certain provisions of stockholder...more

A&O Shearman

Happy Lamb, share ownership disputes and rectification of the register - brevi manu or longa manu?

A&O Shearman on

In the recent Happy Lamb decision Zacaroli J had to consider an application to amend pleadings in an unfair prejudice action (under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 ("CA 2006")) to include a declaration as to the legal...more

Hogan Lovells

2024 Securities, Shareholder, and M&A Litigation Outlook

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2023 was a busy year, with both the Delaware courts and others, including the U.S. Supreme Court, weighing in on shareholder and M&A litigation issues. The Delaware Court of Chancery issued several notable decisions on issues...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Recent Delaware Law Developments and Proposed Legislative Responses

The last several months have marked an extremely busy time in Delaware corporate law, with regard to decisions out of the Delaware courts, proposed legislative responses, and shifting market practices. In recent weeks in...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Proposed DGCL Amendments Would Expressly Authorize Stockholders’ Agreements and Align DGCL Provisions with Current M&A Practices

On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) approved proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) in order to align the DGCL’s provisions...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Corporate Trends and Financing - March 2024

Managing Deal Risks in a Challenging Regulatory Environment: Strategies and Deal Terms With antitrust and other regulators scrutinizing mergers more closely, it is crucial for companies to negotiate terms to mitigate and...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery Invalidates “New Wave” Stockholder Agreement Constraining Board Authority

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This enduring cornerstone of Delaware corporate law is rooted in Section 141(a) of the Delaware General Corporate Law (“DGCL”): “The business and affairs of every corporation […] shall be managed by or under the direction of...more

Hogan Lovells

Q4 2023 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

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This quarter, Delaware courts issued several notable opinions in unique contexts. For example, in a rare reversal, the Delaware Supreme Court rejected the Court of Chancery’s use of “judicial notice” of another court’s ruling...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

The Informed Board - Winter 2024

The oversight obligations of boards continue to expand. Recent enforcement actions and new laws in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and supply chains create new challenges for boards, as we explain in this...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Shareholder Activism Continues To Increase and Spread in Europe

Key Points - - The number of activist campaigns launched against European companies rose again in 2023, with a new focus on German targets. - Many activists surveyed believe that France offers them good opportunities. -...more

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