Tag: Activism
Cooley’s 2023 Tech M&A Year in Review: An AI-Generated Glass Half Full
2023’s much-discussed downturn in mergers & acquisitions – with global M&A volume and value down 6% and 17%, respectively, from 2022 – was largely driven by the slowdown in the tech sector, with global tech M&A volumes down 51% year over year, while other sectors saw marked increases.[1] The headwinds […]
Cooley’s 2023 Activism Year in Review: Wolf Packs at the Gate
As we look ahead to the 2024 proxy season (and beyond), let’s review the key 2023 trends and developments from activism playbooks, with a sharp focus on the ever-changing landscape in the technology and healthcare sectors. Momentum building for 2024? Globally, 229 campaigns launched in 2023, just under 2022 campaign […]
Long-Term Focus: Preparing for Activism + Takeovers Amid COVID-19 Risks
Last week we cautioned that market volatility resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to increasing levels of shareholder activism and unsolicited takeover offers. Although the pandemic has raised countless new risks, companies remain vulnerable to activism attacks that focus on short-term objectives and opportunistic takeover bids stemming from the […]
Navigating Today: Public Company Hot Spots and M&A Negotiations with the Impact of COVID-19
With last Wednesday’s categorization by the World Health Organization of COVID-19 as a pandemic, schools, places of business and other venues throughout the United States quickly closed in-person locations and moved to remote connectivity as efficiently as possible. On Sunday, the governor of California called for all bars and nightclubs […]
How much disclosure of deal dirty laundry is necessary in order to fully inform a Corwin/Volcano cleansing vote?
In Elizabeth Morrison v. Ray Berry et. al., (dated July 9, 2018), the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Delaware Chancery Court’s dismissal of deal litigation based on obtaining a cleansing vote under Corwin/Volcano because the defendants failed to show “as required under Corwin” that the vote was fully informed. The […]
Ninth Circuit Rules Tender Offer Disclosure Challenges Do Not Require Proof of Intent to Deceive
On April 20, 2018, the Ninth Circuit ruled that shareholder claims for false or misleading tender offer disclosures under Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 require a mere showing of negligence, rather than fraudulent intent (scienter). This holding departs from longstanding rulings by five other federal appeals […]
Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Dell’s Merger Appraisal Price Bump
On December 14, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed and remanded the Court of Chancery’s appraisal of the fair value of Dell Inc. The trial court’s 2016 ruling, which found that a $25 billion management-led buyout undervalued the computer giant by about $7 billion, sent shock waves across the M&A landscape […]
New Pubcos Should Consider Defensive Health in Light of ISS/GL Recommendations
ISS and Glass Lewis are continuing to apply special scrutiny to certain corporate governance provisions of “newly public” companies (generally, companies that have gone public in 2014 or later). See our December 2016 client alert. In short, the latest policies (which have evolved over the last few years) provide that […]
Activists and the Poison Pill
In re Third Point LLC v. Ruprecht, et al. (Del. Ch. May 2, 2014). In the much anticipated review of Sotheby’s two-tiered stockholder rights plan adopted in response to Third Point’s activist campaign and proxy contest, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the Sotheby’s board did not breach its […]