The SEC announced settled charges against Andeavor LLC for controls violations relating to a stock buyback plan it implemented while it was in discussions to be acquired by Marathon Petroleum Corp. in 2018. Andeavor agreed to pay a $20 million penalty to settle the charges. According to the SEC order,... Read More
The SEC charged former Hertz CEO and Chairman Mark Frissora with aiding and abetting the company in its filing of inaccurate financial statements and disclosures. Frissora agreed to settle the charges and repay Hertz nearly $2 million in incentive-based compensation. Frissora did not admit or deny the allegations. Select portions... Read More
In HUMC Holdco, LLC et al v. MPT of Hoboken TRS, LLC et al, the Delaware Court of Chancery examined numerous complexities attendant to an alleged violation of a right of first refusal in an LLC Agreement in connection with a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Among other things,... Read More
City of Fort Myers General § Employees’ Pension Fund v Haley, which was commenced in the Delaware Court of Chancery, grew out of the merger of equals between Towers Watson & Co. and Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company. Although Towers had stronger performance and greater market capitalization, under the... Read More
In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Litigation considered whether a fiduciary for an acquired entity can aid and abet breaches of duty by a fiduciary for the buyer. Theoretically yes, almost anything is possible. But what if the breach of duty relates only to the buyer paying the seller too much?... Read More
In 2013, Michael Dell and Silver Lake Group LLC took Dell, Inc. private through a leveraged buyout. The privately held successor of Dell, Inc. was Dell Technologies Inc. (the “Company”), which Mr. Dell and Silver Lake control. In 2016, the Company sought to acquire EMC Corporation, a data-storage firm. One... Read More
Fortis Advisors LLC, v. Allergan W.C. Holding Inc. addressed defendant Allergan’s request for an order requiring the former stockholders of Oculeve, Inc. to participate in discovery as real parties in interest and to be subject to trial subpoenas as parties. In the alternative, Allergan sought to compel the stockholders’ agent,... Read More
In early 2016, the camera manufacturer, GoPro, Inc. planned to roll out two new products to the market, a drone that would house state of the art GoPro cameras and the latest iteration of its signature wearable camera. GoPro provided revenue guidance for 2016 based on projected sales of both... Read More
Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. is a publicly traded Delaware corporation based in China. The Company struggled persistently with its financial reporting and internal controls, encountering particular difficulties with related-party transactions. The complaint filed in Hughes v. Hu describes problems dating back to 2010. In March 2014, the Company publicly announced... Read More
The Unites States District Court for the Northern District of California recently found that 10b-5 litigation regarding Elon Musk’s tweets could move forward after reviewing a motion to dismiss in In Re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation. Mr. Musk famously tweeted “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Mr.... Read More