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Merger Agreements 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

White & Case LLP on

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

Allen Matkins

Nevada Bill Would Expressly Allow Directors To Approve Documents In "Preliminary Form"

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Almost one year ago, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled that a board of directors of a Delaware corporation must at a "bare minimum" approve an "essentially complete" version of the merger agreement.   Sjunde...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

A Sharper Focus: Exploring VC Side Letters

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A side letter in the venture capital sector is an agreement between an investor and the company it is investing in that entitles the investor to certain contractual rights, which supplement and are in addition to other rights...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Delaware Court of Chancery Holds That Proposed Conversion Did Not Trigger a Blocking Right Covering Charter Repeals

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In Gunderson v. The Trade Desk, Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a charter provision requiring supermajority stockholder approval to amend or repeal The Trade Desk, Inc.’s (Trade Desk) charter was not triggered...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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

“Draft Dodging”:  Approving “Nearly Final” Merger Agreement Becomes Dangerous in Delaware

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The board of directors of any Delaware corporation proposing to merge is required under Delaware law to adopt a resolution approving the merger agreement.  In the real world of M&A practice, however, the version of the merger...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

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Series of Delaware Court of Chancery Decisions Highlights Importance of Earnout Drafting

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In recent months, the Delaware Court of Chancery has decided four significant cases regarding merger agreement earnout provisions. Most notably, in one of the largest judgments ever awarded by the Court, it found Johnson &...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

The Delaware General Assembly Approves Amendments to the DGCL – Effective August 1, 2024

On June 20, 2024, the Delaware General Assembly passed legislation to amend certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in order to address recent decisions of Delaware’s Court of Chancery and bring...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

"Market Practice" 2024 DGCL Amendments Become Effective

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The amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) are effective yesterday, August 1, and will apply retroactively to agreements and contracts that a Delaware corporation entered into, or that a Delaware...more

Morris James LLP

2024 Delaware General Corporation Law Amendments

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As part of the annual process of reviewing and updating the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), Delaware’s state legislature recently approved 2024 amendments. In summary, these include the following changes... ...more

Kennedys

Delaware governor approves significant amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

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On July 17, 2024, Governor John Carney signed into law several amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) that are intended to address market uncertainty created by recent Chancery Court decisions. Effective...more

Mayer Brown

DGCL Amendments Proposed to Address Recent Delaware Court of Chancery Decisions Affecting Stockholder Agreements, Board Approvals...

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Three recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) have upended long-standing market practice related to, among other matters, stockholder agreements, board approvals of merger agreements and the...more

Cooley LLP

Chancellor McCormick, law professors weigh in on controversy over proposed DGCL amendments

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Last month, this PubCo post discussed the recent controversy over proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law. As noted in the post, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Proposed Amendments to the DGCL Address Issues Raised by Recent Delaware Court Decisions

On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association approved legislation proposing to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in response to recent Delaware Court of...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

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Sjunde AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard Inc.: What May be Common May not be Right

In another impactful decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery in Sjunde AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard Inc. again stressed the importance of the statutory text of the DGCL to dismiss claims by the plaintiffs alleging that...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

Troutman Pepper Locke

“Market Practice Needs to Check Itself” – A Reminder from the Court of Chancery that M&A Practitioners Must Strictly Abide by...

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In Sjunde AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery refused to dismiss claims against Activision Blizzard, Inc. (the company) and its board of directors (the board) that the board had violated,...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

Troutman Pepper Locke

Delaware Court of Chancery Addresses Enforceability of Con Ed Provision

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In Crispo v. Musk, the Delaware Court of Chancery considered the enforceability of a so-called “Con Ed” provision contained in a merger agreement governing the well-publicized and troubled acquisition of Twitter, Inc....more

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