In reviewing current “hot topics” in M&A, law firm Sullivan and Cromwell writes this about the current state of appraisal, given the continued developments from multiple major appraisal cases in the past couple years:
“Post-Aruba Appraisal Landscape: Following the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Verition Partners Master Fund Ltd. v. Aruba Networks, Inc. (April 17
Camelot Portfolios, an Ohio-based investment fund, is launching a new appraisal-focused fund. Camelot is no stranger to the space, since it uses appraisal strategies in an existing fund. The new fund will join a number of other funds offering exposure to appraisal strategies. Appraisal arbitrage has long been a strategy of certain investment funds;
In “Appraisal Arbitrage: In Case of Emergency, Break Glass” – a student note published in the Notre Dame Law Review (93 Notre Dame L. Rev. 2191) – the author lays out a case for why appraisal, including appraisal arbitrage, remains critical to the overall scheme of shareholder protection. As the author observes, many a
Professor Robert Reder and Vanderbilt JD candidate Blake Woodward have published a piece in the Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc reviewing the Delaware Supreme Court’s DFC decision and the intricacies of Chancellor Strine’s 85 page opinion. We’ve posted extensively about DFC throughout its history. The authors of the current piece point out that DFC
Authors from Potter Anderson write in the spring 2018 edition of Delaware Laws Governing Business Entities [$$] that recent developments in appraisal have restored ‘balance’ to the remedy. Citing case law where courts have deferred to deal price, amendments to the appraisal statute, and the statutory authorization of distributed ledger (i.e., blockchain) technology for corporations,
Gregory V. Varallo of Richards Layton & Finger, P.A. discusses takeaways from the “The Continuing Impact of Appraisal Rights” panel at the 30th annual Tulane Corporate Institute. At the two-day series of panels on Delaware corporate law and M&A deal making, which took place on March 15-16 in New Orleans, appraisal rights remained a hot
The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation recently posted an analysis by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz of the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in SWS, summarily affirming the Delaware Chancery Court’s award of fair value at 7.8% below the merger price. The authors observe that SWS is the first Delaware
As reported by Pensions & Investments, the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System has committed $30 million to an alternative asset manager specializing in appraisal opportunities. Further highlighting the focus on appraisal, the Fund committed an additional $30 million to a different fund, but agreed to expand that fund to include appraisal.
As we’ve blogged about
The Harvard Business Law Review has published “The High Cost of Fewer Appraisal Claims in 2017: Premia Down, Agency Costs Up” an article we’ve blogged about previously, including commentary from interested authors. The HBLR piece, by Matthew Schoenfeld, argues that weakened shareholder litigation reduces the acquisition premium in mergers. This is another
Seekingalpha has published this piece, “Appraisal Rights: Nontraditional Shareholder Activism” by Aberdeen Asset Management. In this post, Aberdeen recounts the increase in appraisal in this decade, and focuses on how investors have sought to realize additional returns in the appraisal process. Aberdeen then highlights the risks, including legislative risks (which we have covered
