Tag: Deal Litigation
Transfer Traps: Considerations for Dual-Class Companies Contemplating M&A Transactions
The rise of founder-led, venture capital-backed companies in recent years has coincided with a surge of companies implementing dual-class share structures in connection with their initial public offerings. A dual-class structure typically entitles the holders of one class of the company’s common stock (often designated as Class B common stock) […]
2017 M&A Trends Series: Appraisal Risks Factor High
So far this year, deal parties are approaching M&A with cautious optimism. This series of Cooley M&A blog posts include some brief observations that offer some M&A highlights over the past year and our thoughts for the year to come. Appraisal Risks Factor High In deals where stockholders have the right […]
Allergan Fined for Failure to Disclose Merger Negotiations with Third Parties During Hostile Bid
At what point do “discussions” with a friendly merger party become “negotiations” that are required to be publicly disclosed under the tender offer rules in response to a hostile bid? In a recent settlement of cease and desist proceedings against Allergan in connection with Valeant and Pershing Square’s well-publicized hostile […]
Court Gives Energy Transfer the Right to Walk Based on its Counsel’s Inability to Deliver the Required Tax Opinion
In a rare decision involving unusual facts, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a buyer (Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.) had the right to terminate a signed merger agreement with its target (The Williams Companies, Inc.) that Energy Transfer no longer wished to close due to the unexpected decline in […]
Federal Appeals Court Rejects “Disclosure-Only” Settlement
Yesterday, in In re: Walgreen Co., the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a “disclosure-only settlement” involving Walgreen Co.’s 2014 purchase of Alliance Boots and the combined company’s subsequent reorganization. In a strongly-worded but divided opinion, the Court reversed the district court’s ruling, which approved (albeit reluctantly) the disclosure settlement […]