Failure to Comply with the HSR Act: The Price is Going Up
Failure to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”) is about to get a lot more expensive. Effective August 1, 2016, the maximum civil penalty for noncompliance with the premerger notification requirements of the HSR Act will increase from $16,000 to $40,000 per day – a […]
Dell Decision and Recent Amendments to Delaware’s Appraisal Statute
Section 262 of the DGCL provides a statutory remedy for stockholders who do not vote in favor of certain M&A transactions (generally cash mergers) to petition the corporation to buy their stock at a price equivalent to the “fair value” of the stock, subject to compliance with certain procedures. A […]
From Aeroflex to Trulia: A Seismic Shift
On January 22, 2016, Chancellor Bouchard rejected a proposed disclosure-only settlement in In re Trulia, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, 129 A.3d 884 (Del. Ch. 2016), marking the culmination of what has been a seismic shift over the past several months in the Delaware Chancery Court’s treatment of disclosure-only settlements in lawsuits challenging […]
CDX Holdings Decision Spotlights the Treatment of Stock Options in a Merger
The treatment of outstanding stock options and other equity compensation awards is often a key element of a sale transaction. Because stock options can represent considerable value, how they are treated can have a significant impact on the company’s management team and employees. For the parties negotiating the transaction, it can […]
DE Court Comments on Block-Holder Rights in OptimisCorp
The Delaware Supreme Court issued an Order this week in OptimisCorp v. Waite that could have implications for VC-backed or other companies with so-called “block-holder” directors – or directors who are appointed by a stockholder with a large block of shares – in the context of corporate turmoil where management, […]
Private Market Trends Snapshot 2016
M&A deal terms will almost always vary based on the specific context of the transaction, including the deal price, structure and each party’s negotiating leverage. Although no amount of data can replace context-specific analysis, data-driven decision-making continues to make its way into negotiations and can, under the right circumstances, provide […]
Federal Trade Commission v. Steris Corporation: High Barriers to Proving Likely Anticompetitive Effects from Loss of Future Competition
It has been more than 50 years since the Supreme Court first deliberated over the potential competition doctrine in United States v. Penn-Olin Chemical Co., where the Court recognized that Section 7 of the Clayton Act may be violated based on that theory of competitive harm.
Options to Acquire: How these Creative Acquisition Strategies Differ from a Traditional Purchase
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 addresses both the needs of a target company to develop a product or business on the one hand […]
Newly-Released Data Reveal 50% Increase in CFIUS Filings Over Prior Year
Each year, the US government releases a public version of a classified report to Congress summarizing the government’s confidential review of certain foreign investments in the United States. The entity responsible for the report is an obscure committee of federal agencies and offices with national security responsibilities. Collectively, the members of the […]
Top 10 M&A Developments and Trends for 2016
Here is a look back at the top M&A developments that affected deal-making last year and a look forward to our expectations for 2016.