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.”
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 ...
Compromised Section 1031 appraisal sinks Exelon tax strategy for fossil fuel power plant sale
U.S. Tax Court Judge David Laro frequently has cautioned experts not to give in to hiring attorneys who want to shape the appraisal. Although federal and state discovery rules offer some protection for attorney-expert communication, there is a risk of exposure and with it a risk of damage to the expert’s work product and reputation. A recent Section 1031 case, which Judge Laro handled, illustrates what happens when the communication is discovered.
Defense expert testimony supports ESOP valuation and fairness opinions
A recent ESOP decision involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and engaging in a prohibited transaction turned on whether the ESOP trustee’s financial advisor had performed proper due diligence and issued defensible fairness and valuation analyses.