In the ongoing Brundle v. Wilmington Trust ESOP saga, which is now in the appeals stage, the Department of Labor recently filed an amicus brief in support of the district court’s $29.8 million judgment against the ESOP trustee. The case arose out of a plan participant’s claim that the ESOP trustee breached its fiduciary duties to the plan by causing the ESOP to pay more than fair market value for the employer’s stock. Read more >>

Discover how far last year’s M&A buyers were willing to go above the publicly traded share value with their offers. View a list of the five highest premiums offered for M&A transactions announced in 2017. Read more >>

When and whether to apply a discount for marketability in divorce valuations has been an open question in Tennessee, owing to some confusing court rulings. However, a recent amendment to the Tennessee Code seeks to provide clarity to valuators handling divorce cases in this jurisdiction. Read more >>

Inadequate trustee performance was at the center of a recent case, featuring a nontraditional ESOP structure. The court found that, if the trustee had engaged with the underlying valuation, it would have discovered numerous weaknesses and prevented the ESOP from overpaying for the company stock. Read more >>

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently cut short a challenge to a going-private merger when it dismissed the plaintiffs' complaint. The plaintiffs unsuccessfully argued the defendants breached their fiduciary duties when they favored the controller's lower bid over a third-party bidder's higher offer. Read more >>