Proxy Disclosed Sufficient Valuation Data to Allow Informed Vote on Merger
Chancery says proxy gave disinterested shareholders sufficient information about valuation analysis underlying financial advisor’s fairness opinion to enable informed vote, and it dismisses breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims under business judgment rule.
Confusion Over Key Valuation Issues Prompts Remand
In shareholder dispute, appeals court says trial court did not follow controlling shareholder agreement requiring appraiser to value the company as an entity; also, appraiser’s report left it unclear whether valuation included improper minority discount.
In re PetSmart, Inc.
In statutory appraisal, Chancery decides to “defer” to deal price, citing a robust sales process and well-functioning market; petitioners’ DCF analysis was not a useful valuation tool where it was based on, “at best, fanciful” management projections.
‘Fanciful’ Projections Make DCF an Unreliable Tool in Appraisal Proceeding
In statutory appraisal, Chancery decides to “defer” to deal price, citing a robust sales process and well-functioning market; petitioners’ DCF analysis was not a useful valuation tool where it was based on, “at best, fanciful” management projections.
Another ESOP trustee in trouble over valuation
For the second time in March 2017, a court found an ESOP trustee liable for causing the plan to overpay. The most recent decision chronicles in exhaustive detail how the trustee failed the plan in terms of ensuring that no more than fair market value would be paid for the seller’s shares.
Court Treats Outpatient Surgery Center as Extension of Physician’s Practice
Court says deducting personal goodwill from valuation of physician’s interest in outpatient surgical center is appropriate even if physician was not an employee of center; entity’s income and total value depended on its physician members’ patient base.
New Jersey Court Finds Defendant’s Actions Justify DLOM in Forced Buyout
In New Jersey fair value determination, following precedent, court finds defendant’s conduct justifies use of a marketability discount because he was oppressing shareholder who created “extraordinary circumstances” necessitating forced buyout; court rejec ...
Chancery Says Solid Sales Process Lends Credibility to Deal Price
In appraisal action, Chancery says final merger consideration best represents fair value, noting sales process led to “meaningful price discovery”; court says with DCF too much depends on assumptions; small changes may have outsize impact on value range.
ESOP trustee’s failure to vet valuation causes significant overpayment
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.
Merger valuation disclosures were adequate. Chancery applies business judgment rule to breach of fiduciary duty action
The business judgment rule has featured prominently in a number of recent breach of fiduciary duty cases in front of the Delaware Court of Chancery. Under the rule, the court must not interfere in a transaction if a majority of the minority shareholders approved the deal and the vote was “uncoerced and fully informed.”
ESOP Trustee Evaded Fiduciary Duties by Delegating Valuation
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay; trustee “delegated” valuation to ESOP valuator without inquiring into valuation components, including projections, and without exploring “glaring” gaps (industry analysis) in valuation report.
Perez v. First Bankers Trust Services, Inc.
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay; trustee “delegated” valuation to ESOP valuator without inquiring into valuation components, including projections, and without exploring “glaring” gaps (industry analysis) in valuation report.
Court of Appeals Sides With Taxpayers on Right to Vet IRS Expert Valuation
Court of Appeals finds Tax Court held mistaken view of burden of proof and erred in declining to evaluate taxpayers’ multiple challenges to IRS’s expert valuation; on remand, Tax Court may consider new valuation evidence, appeals court says.
CUT Method Prevails in Amazon’s Transfer Pricing War With IRS
In transfer pricing case, Tax Court says Amazon more accurately determined buy-in and cost-sharing payments by using CUT method to value separately three types of intangible assets; IRS’s DCF analysis results in improper enterprise valuation, court says.
Amazon.com, Inc. v. Commissioner (I)
In transfer pricing case, Tax Court says Amazon more accurately determined buy-in and cost-sharing payments by using CUT method to value separately three types of intangible assets; IRS’s DCF analysis results in improper enterprise valuation, court says.
Brundle v. Wilmington Trust N.A. (I)
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for allowing overpayment for company shares; trustee rushed transaction and failed to scrutinize financial advisor’s valuation ignoring red flags related to projections, use of control premium, beta, rounding up of values.
Trustee Liable for Inadequate ESOP Valuation Vetting
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for allowing overpayment for company shares; trustee rushed transaction and failed to scrutinize financial advisor’s valuation ignoring red flags related to projections, use of control premium, beta, rounding up of values.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF APPRAISERS: Business Valuation Committee Special Topics Paper #3: The Use of Management's Prospective Financial Information by a Valuation Analyst
According to AICPA Professional Standards: AT Section 301 Financial Forecasts and Projections, “financial forecast is the prospective financial statements that present, to the best of the responsible party's knowledge and belief, an entity's expected financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. A financial forecast is based on the responsible party's assumptions reflecting the conditions it expects to exist and the course of action it expects to take.” In order for a valuation analyst to ...
A Primer on Bargain Purchases and Negative Goodwill
When a change of company control occurs, such as an acquisition, a valuation of the assets acquired must be performed to be compliant with generally accepted accounting principles, as mandated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and addressed in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 805: Business Combinations. This type of exercise is commonly referred to as a purchase price allocation, since the purchase price of the subject company is allocated across all tangible and intangible ...
Comparing Three Convertible Debt Valuation Models
In this article, I (a) describe and illustrate the implementation of three convertible debt valuation models, (b) show how their values for convertible debt respond to changes in the underlying valuation parameters, (c) examine the effects of changing each of the models such that the credit spread and the probability of default are not constant but vary inversely with the stock price, and (d) measure and compare the accuracy of each model when it is ...
Tennessee Sticks With Delaware Block Method in Judicial Appraisals
Appeals court says trial court followed applicable law when it used Delaware block method to determine fair value of dissenting shareholders’ interests; court declines to change law on valuation, saying reversal must come from state Supreme Court.
Misunderstanding of Facts Results in Overvaluation of Fuel Supply Rights
Debtor’s fuel supply rights had value either in form of an implied contract, customer relationship, or simply an income stream, court says; court does not assign specific value but finds appraiser overstated its value due to misunderstanding of key facts.
r2 Advisors, LLC v. Equitable Oil Purchasing Co. (In re Red Eagle Oil, Inc.)
Debtor’s fuel supply rights had value either in form of an implied contract, customer relationship, or simply an income stream, court says; court does not assign specific value but finds appraiser overstated its value due to misunderstanding of key facts.
Confusion Over Key Valuation Issues Prompts Remand
In shareholder dispute, appeals court says trial court did not follow controlling shareholder agreement requiring appraiser to value the company as an entity; also, appraiser’s report left it unclear whether valuation included improper minority discount.
Swiderski Equip. v. Swiderski
In shareholder dispute, appeals court says trial court did not follow controlling shareholder agreement requiring appraiser to value the company as an entity; also, appraiser’s report left it unclear whether valuation included improper minority discount.