Sky Blog
It’s time to exempt a certain type of hostile bid – an all-cash, all-shares tender offer – from a poison pill defense. In essence, I propose a statutory rule requiring a board to remain neutral in the face of such …
The first half of 2017 brought with it a nearly unprecedented rate of new filings (a pace few predicted), as well as several important developments in the securities laws. Among other things, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to weigh in …
M&A activity in June 2017 struggled to build upon any recent favorable indicators. Globally, total deal volume by dollar value decreased from May 2017 volume by 3.5% to $263.00 billion, and the number of deals decreased by 5.8% to 3,116. …
M&A activity showed mixed results in May 2017, with similar trends to April’s figures, both in terms of deal volume and number of deals.
Globally, total deal volume, as measured by dollar value, increased by 6.9% to $274.05 billion and …
Efficiencies, economies of scale, and the general desire to improve the customer experience are the lifeblood of all mergers. And one of the most common efficiencies in any deal comes from enhanced purchasing power, or the ability to lower costs …
Global M&A activity in April 2017 declined by most measures from its March 2017 level, while the U.S. showed more mixed results. Globally, total deal volume, as measured by dollar value, decreased by 16.6% to $253.91 billion, whereas in the …
The Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC set a high bar for plaintiff stockholders seeking to challenge public company mergers. Assuming a transaction that is not subject to entire fairness review was approved …
While all acquisitions require approval from target shareholders, the necessary level of shareholder support varies across jurisdictions and deal structures. Some transactions can be approved by a simple majority of target shareholders, while others require super-majority approval. In our paper, …
The prescription drug industry has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades. The intensifying competition from generic drugs, the expanding power of entities that pay for drugs and negotiate drug prices, the increasing costs of drug development and gaining approval …
Of the nearly 6,000 U.S. firms that conducted initial public offerings between 1980 and 2008, 38 percent became merger bidders within three years after the IPO and 12 percent became takeover targets. It is important that investors understand these developments, …
2016 was an active year for M&A, though year-end results did not surpass record-levels set in 2015. Global deal volume for the year was $3.7l trillion and U.S. deal volume was $1.66 trillion (14.8% and 16.4% lower than their respective …
While 2016 was strong overall (see our annual review here), M&A activity in the last month was mixed. Total deal volume in December 2016 rose globally by 31.2% to $376.14 billion but declined in the U.S. by 49.4% to …
It is too early to predict with confidence the direction that antitrust policy will take in the Trump Administration, because the President-elect has not yet announced who will lead the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) or the …
Until very recently, it was not controversial to claim that shareholder litigation had entered a period of crisis. A significant majority of deals involving publicly-traded corporations (most of which are organized in Delaware) were challenged in litigation, and to make …
In mergers and acquisitions transactions with privately-held target companies, transacting parties will often agree to make payments to the target shareholders contingent upon some post-closing events. One frequently used mechanism is an earnout. With an earnout, the parties will agree …
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2002 in the aftermath of a series of corporate scandals. It aims to strengthen investor protection by promoting better corporate governance and auditor independence. In particular, Sections 302 and …
On January 21, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the latest annual revision to the size thresholds governing premerger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. …
In case you are wondering – no, this is not about making the closing more festive, or planning for a champagne celebration after the closing.
As companies think about the timing of the closing, several key drivers are leading both …
On May 29, 2013, Chancellor Leo E. Strine, Jr. of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an important decision that lays the foundation for controlling stockholders to pursue going-private merger transactions with the comfort that, if certain conditions are met, …
Delaware appears almost certain to adopt changes that would become effective August 1 to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) which would change the process for back-end mergers after a tender offer closes.
Under this change, a Buyer of over …