Has the SPAC Bubble Burst? Part 2: The SEC’s New Rules
Has the SPAC Bubble Burst? Lessons Learned From the Early Days of SPAC Mania
FCPA Compliance Report - Karen Woody on JPMorgan and Nikola SEC Enforcement Actions
Compliance Into The Weeds - Year End Review, Part 1
Compliance Into The Weeds - Red Flags and SPACs
Reps & Warranties Insurance: Sealing The Deal
Understanding SPAC Transactions: What it Takes to Be “SPAC Ready"
Don’t Step on a Crack in the SPAC/deSPAC Insurance Claim Process
Fast Track to IPO: Why Are Series A Startups Snatching Topflight CFOs?
The Brave New Frontier of Securing D&O Insurance for SPACs and deSPACs
Compliance and Coronavirus-Michael Beber on M&A, IPOs and SPACs During and After Covid-19
In Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital, the Delaware Court of Chancery found that a stockholder plaintiff pleaded a viable breach of fiduciary duty claim based on an alleged failure of the board of directors of a SPAC to disclose...more
In the last edition of the SPAC Notebook, we examined the current risks to SPACs incorporating in the Cayman Islands. In this edition, we turn our focus to Delaware and its new set of amendments to the Delaware General...more
Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital LLC, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0469-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 18, 2024) - The Court of Chancery found that the plaintiff stated legally-sufficient claims in connection with a merger transaction against...more
Cayman continues to be a hot topic among SPACs. It comes up in almost every conversation I have about SPACs and de-SPACs. My clients are asking: Should they incorporate in the Cayman Islands and then remain there after their...more
Since Vice Chancellor Lori Will’s seminal decision in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation in January 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery has seen a wave of lawsuits accusing special purpose acquisition companies...more
Special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) have been in the litigation spotlight recently. As SPAC disputes play out in courts nationwide, one especially interesting field of play is in the Delaware Chancery courts where...more
On January 4, 2023, and again on March 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied motions to dismiss claims against directors and controlling shareholders of GigCapital-affiliated special...more
With all the SPAC activity and scrutiny over the past several years, it was only a matter of time before the Delaware courts had an opportunity to weigh in on SPAC stockholder litigation. Early last year, in January...more
On March 7, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to stay a putative class action brought by legacy stockholders of DiamondPeak Holding Corp., a special purpose acquisition...more
SPAC sponsors, investors, advisors, and (most keenly) directors are asking questions following a Delaware court’s denial in January of the defendants’ request for dismissal in the MultiPlan Corp. shareholder litigation. Those...more
Highlighted below are several recent opinions from the Delaware Court of Chancery relating to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that provide helpful guidance to sponsors, investors and practitioners. These cases...more
Takeaways - The Delaware Supreme Court simplified the pleadings-stage test applied to derivative suits where no demand has first been made on the board. Disputes about stockholder books-and-records requests focus...more
Takeaways - Despite a decline in securities class action filings in 2021, we saw a spike in SPAC-related lawsuits and continued activity in event-driven suits focused on issues of cybersecurity, the pandemic and...more
The decision adopts enhanced scrutiny of director fiduciary duties for de-SPAC transactions, but suggests dismissal may be appropriate when stockholders exercise redemption rights on a fully informed basis. On January 3,...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery's application of the "entire fairness" standard in In re MultiPlan Stockholders Litigation is an important development for SPACs incorporated in Delaware, and it could result in more...more
A year ago, as the SPAC wave continued to build, we wrote that lawsuits challenging de-SPAC transactions would likely pose a question that had thus far received little attention from courts or commentators: is a de-SPAC...more
On January 3, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion denying motions to dismiss in In re Multiplan Corp. Stockholders Litigation, a stockholder action arising out of the completed business combination for...more
Northern District of California Dismisses Shareholder Derivative Suit Concerning Lack of Diversity; Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Suit Against Medical Device Company for Failure to Plead Demand Futility;...more
Key Points - Between September 2020 and March 2021, at least 35 SPACs have been hit with one or more shareholder lawsuits filed in New York state court. - These lawsuits generally allege that SPAC directors breached...more
Most of the recent shareholder litigation that has followed the current wave of Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) offerings and associated business combinations has been based on federal securities law claims. ...more