Sky Blog
A number of companies have recently gone public with dual-class share structures, allowing founders to retain control. Most of these companies’ articles of incorporation contain a provision that requires any merger consideration to be distributed pro rata among all shareholders. …
In a new paper, “Worthless Companies,” I explain how companies with worthless assets can have substantial equity value on efficient markets and debt that trades near par, so long as an irrational bidder may acquire the company.
Consider a firm …
In U.S. and global M&A activity for November 2017, total deal volume by dollar value increased to a 12-month high, while the total number of deals decreased to a 12-month low. In the U.S., deal volume increased by 179.0% to …
Over the past two years, the deal litigation landscape has changed dramatically. In early 2016, the Delaware Court of Chancery announced a new rule for evaluating disclosure-based settlements in deal litigation — the “plainly material” standard — and expressed a …
There were more than $1 trillion worth of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in 2016, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, making them a prominent form of foreign direct investment and an important way for multinational entities …
Following the Great Recession, low interest rates coupled with high levels of cash reserves propelled companies to grow through mergers and acquisitions rather than organically through capital investments. The year 2015 saw a record number of M&A deals totaling $4.9 …
In U.S. and global M&A activity for October 2017, deal volume increased by total dollar value, while the total number of deals decreased in some cases to or nearing 12-month lows. In the U.S., deal volume increased by 23.4% to …
On November 8, 2017, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a long-awaited bill that could significantly alter the process by which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) reviews foreign investment in the United …
Takeover transactions are often the most significant activity affecting corporations and their shareholders. Accordingly, there are intense debates about the value and impact of takeovers and the extent to which law should regulate such transactions. One area of focus for …
During the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. government viewed the survival of large consolidated banks as inextricably linked to the welfare of the overall economy, prompting such institutions to be labeled too-big-to-fail (TBTF) and granted government assistance. The primary and …
Continuing a relatively flat year so far, M&A activity showed mixed results in September 2017, with the global market switching positions with the U.S. from last month and generally faring better. In the U.S., total deal volume, as measured by …
Directors of regulated financial institutions have exceedingly difficult jobs with many demands. The aftermath of the financial crisis led to countless new regulatory requirements and expectations, many of these unwritten and evolving based on political currents or varying views at …
Corporate planners and practitioners know well that it takes quite a long time to close a long-form merger, with the shareholder approval requirement accounting for the bulk of the delay in almost half of such mergers. But we have not …
On September 26, 2017, the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) sued to unwind Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s (Parker’s) consummated acquisition of CLARCOR Inc. (CLARCOR) on the ground the transaction created a monopoly in the US market for aviation fuel filtration …
The market for corporate control is widely regarded, at least theoretically, as an important corporate governance mechanism for aligning the interests of managers and shareholders of a firm. A healthy takeover market can also help countries attract domestic and foreign …
On September 19, 2017, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the “Committee”) released its annual report (“Report”) to Congress. One day later, CFIUS also released more limited data on foreign investment activity in 2016 (the …
Global M&A activity declined in August 2017, with total deal volume, as measured by dollar value, decreasing 4.0% to $277.65 billion and the number of deals decreasing 5.6% to 3,119. The U.S. remained a bright spot in the M&A market, …
Global and U.S. M&A activity in July 2017 increased in total deal value, despite a decline in the number of deals. Globally, total deal volume by dollar value increased by 14.6% to $303.85 billion, while the number of deals decreased …