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Merger Agreements Acquisitions Delaware General Corporation Law

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Erects a “Formidable Obstacle” to Proving Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in Merger Transactions

The In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation decision clarifies that a buyer may not be found liable for aiding and abetting a seller-side breach of fiduciary duty unless the buyer had actual knowledge—not merely...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Sets High Bar for Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in M&A Deals

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The Delaware Supreme Court’s June 17, 2025 decision in In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation reversed a $199 million damages award against TC Energy for aiding and abetting breaches by fiduciaries of Columbia...more

White & Case LLP

Analysis of Lost Premium Damages Provisions Following the Adoption of DGCL Section 261 Amendments

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Effective August 1, 2024, Delaware adopted a set of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL") intended to address, among other things, the Delaware Chancery Court's 2023 decision in Crispo v. Musk. In...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

DarrowEverett LLP

How New Delaware Amendments Impact Stockholder, Merger Agreements

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Over the summer, Delaware enacted a number of amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”). The amendments were largely crafted in response to several recent decisions by the Delaware...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Lost-Premium Damages under Merger Agreement – Proposed Amendment to the DGCL in Light of Crispo vs. Musk

On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association (“DSBA”) issued proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), which, if signed into law, would become...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

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

A&O Shearman

Market Check: Lessons from The Activision-Microsoft Merger

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On February 29, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion on Sjunde AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard1 (“Opinion”) that called into question established market practices for mergers, including (i) the process for...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The Delaware Court of Chancery Puts Practitioners on Notice Regarding Voting Formalities Around Merger Agreements

In Ap-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., C.A. No. 2022-1001-KSJM, 2024 WL 863290 (Del. Ch. Feb. 29, 2024), the Delaware Court of Chancery (McCormick, C.) declined to dismiss a claim alleging that the Board of Directors of...more

Hogan Lovells

Q1 2022 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

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Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the first quarter of 2022. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis....more

White and Williams LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Addresses the Seller’s Preservation of Privilege Post-Closing

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Preserving privilege with respect to pre-closing communications between a selling corporation’s counsel and its management is an important negotiation point in many transactions, so that the seller can prevent the buyer from...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Preserving Privilege Post-Merger

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently upheld a provision in a merger agreement that prevented the buyer from using privileged emails between the seller and its attorneys in post-closing litigation. The decision, in...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Provides Useful Guidance for Protecting Pre-Merger Privileges in Post-Closing Litigation Between Buyers...

In Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. RSI Holdco, LLC, No. 2018-0517-KSJM, 2019 WL 2290916 (Del. Ch. May 29, 2019), the Delaware Court of Chancery reaffirmed that a target company may protect its pre-merger privileged...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Court Addresses Treatment of Sellers' Attorney-Client Privilege in Merger

Last week, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision, Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. RSI Holdco, LLC, addressing when a selling company's attorney-client privilege...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds Merger Agreement Preserved Sellers' Ability To Assert Privilege Over Pre-Merger Attorney-Client...

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On May 29, 2019, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that plaintiff Shareholder Representative Services LLC (“Shareholder Representative”) as the designated representative of Radixx...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2018 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review

In 2018, the Delaware courts issued a broad range of important decisions addressing various corporate law and governance issues. Those decisions are relevant for public and private companies and will help shape...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Reasonable Efforts’ Clauses in Delaware: One Size Fits All, Unless…

Akorn Found - In Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster’s recent opinion in Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG, he discusses (on pages 212-216) the general subject of “efforts” clauses in contracts governed by Delaware law. The...more

Hogan Lovells

Preserving or Eliminating Fraud Claims in M&A Transactions (Update)

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In this April 2016 post, we addressed preserving or eliminating extra-contractual fraud claims in M&A transactions. In this follow-up, we discuss a recent Delaware Chancery Court decision that further clarifies the framework...more

K&L Gates LLP

Tenders Have the Same Cleansing Effect as Stockholder Votes in Two-Step, Section 251(h) Deals

K&L Gates LLP on

In In re Volcano Corp. Stockholder Litig., C.A. No. 10485-VCMR (Del. Ch. June 30, 2016), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that when a fully informed, uncoerced, disinterested majority in voting power of a target’s...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Addresses Novel Controlling-Stockholder Claim and Clarifies Effect of a Fully Informed, Uncoerced...

The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an opinion, captioned Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC, that sheds further light on when a stockholder owning less than 50% of the voting power of a company may be deemed a...more

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