Law360 [$$] recently carried an analysis by a trio of Delaware attorneys regarding the impact of 2016’s prepayment amendment to Delaware appraisal law.  Part of the August 2016 amendments allowed M&A targets to prepay dissenting shareholders an amount of their choosing, thereby stopping the accrual of interest on that portion of the merger price/amount at issue.  At the time of the amendments, there was meaningful debate whether the new rules – including the prepayment option – would curtail appraisal filings, with some commentators suggesting that they may in fact increase appraisal filings, focusing on the prepayment option.

This more recent analysis considers the last year of appraisal, and while the authors note that a year of data is insufficient to “draw any firm conclusions,” their analysis shows that “in the year following the Aug. 1, 2016, effective date of the amendment, appraisal filings have continued to increase.”  Echoing the pre-amendment analysis that the amendments may increase appraisal activity, the authors make note of the fact that as “appraisal litigation continues its upward trend despite the recent overall decline in M&A activity, this trend may suggest that, as discussed below, the prospect of prepayment is contributing to its continued rise.”

As previous analysis discussed, while prepayment may save on interest for a respondent company subject to appraisal, it otherwise frees up capital for investors to redeploy elsewhere – instead of having that capital ‘locked up’ in the appraisal action. Prepayment introduces additional strategic considerations in appraisal for both investors and respondent companies.

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Photo of Steve Hecht Steve Hecht

Steve Hecht is a go-to trial lawyer for hedge funds, institutional investors, family offices, university endowments, venture funds and other investors interested in utilizing the legal process to create value for their own investors. Whether by activist litigation, fiduciary duty claims, or appraisal…

Steve Hecht is a go-to trial lawyer for hedge funds, institutional investors, family offices, university endowments, venture funds and other investors interested in utilizing the legal process to create value for their own investors. Whether by activist litigation, fiduciary duty claims, or appraisal and other valuation strategies, Steve has extensive experience across the gamut of options for shareholders.  He regularly tries cases in Delaware Chancery Court and around the country for clients seeking outsized returns. Steve is a partner of Rolnick Kramer Sadighi LLP.

Photo of Rich Bodnar Rich Bodnar

Rich is an experienced securities litigator focusing on value-generating legal strategy.  Rich brings to each matter a deep knowledge of the quantitative methods side of securities litigation, especially damages computation, event studies, econometrics/economics and the theories, tools, and strategies involved in the preservation…

Rich is an experienced securities litigator focusing on value-generating legal strategy.  Rich brings to each matter a deep knowledge of the quantitative methods side of securities litigation, especially damages computation, event studies, econometrics/economics and the theories, tools, and strategies involved in the preservation and maximization of the value of client’s securities claims.