Law Commons^™

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (Spacs) And The Sec, Neal Newman, Lawrence J. Trautman

Faculty Scholarship

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are simply enterprises that raise money from the public with the intention of purchasing an existing business and becoming publicly traded in the securities markets. If the SPAC is successful in raising money and the acquisition takes place, the target company takes the SPAC’s place on a stock exchange in a transaction that resembles a public offering. Also known as “blank-check” or “reverse merger” companies, this process avoids many of the pitfalls of a traditional initial public offering.

During late 2020 and 2021 an unprecedented surge in the popularity and issuance of Special Purpose Acquisition …

The Shifting Tides Of Merger Litigation, Matthew D. Cain, Jill E. Fisch, Steven Davidoff Solomon, Randall S. Thomas

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2015, Delaware made several important changes to its laws concerning merger litigation. These changes, which were made in response to a perception that levels of merger litigation were too high and that a substantial proportion of merger cases were not providing value, raised the bar, making it more difficult for plaintiffs to win a lawsuit challenging a merger and more difficult for plaintiffs’ counsel to collect a fee award.

We study what has happened in the courts in response to these changes. We find that the initial effect of the changes has been to decrease the volume of merger …

Does Shareholder Voting Matter? Evidence From The Takeover Market, Paul Mason, Usha Rodrigues, Mike Stegemoller, Steven Utke

Scholarly Works

Voting rights are a basic shareholder-protection mechanism. Outside of the core voting requirements state law imposes (election of directors and votes on fundamental changes), federal law grants shareholders additional voting rights. But these rights introduce concomitant costs into corporate governance. Each grant of a voting right thus invites the question: is the benefit achieved worth the cost the vote imposes?

The question is not merely a theoretical one. Recently the SEC, concerned about Nasdaq’s potential weakening of shareholder voting protections, has lamented that little evidence exists on the value of the shareholder vote. This Article provides that evidence. It examines …

Incorporating Legal Claims, Maya Steinitz

Faculty Scholarship

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in commercial litigation funding. Whereas the judicial, legislative, and scholarly treatment of litigation finance has regarded litigation finance first and foremost as a form of champerty and sought to regulate it through rules of legal professional responsibility (hereinafter, the "legal ethics paradigm"), this Article suggests that the problems created by litigation finance are all facets of the classic problems created by "the separation of ownership and control" that have been a focus of business law since the advent of the corporate form. Therefore, an "incorporation paradigm," offered here, is more appropriate. "Incorporating …

Tax And Corporate Governance: The Influence Of Tax On Managerial Agency Costs, David M. Schizer

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter examines the influence of tax on managerial agency costs, with particular emphasis on public companies in the United States. Focusing on “C-corporations,” this chapter first considers why tax is an imperfect vehicle for mitigating managerial agency costs. It then discusses how tax influences the compensation of managers, both in ways policy makers intended, and in ways they did not. The chapter also considers how tax affects management decisions about capital structure, hedging, and acquisitions. In addition, this chapter explores the tax system’s influence on the ability and incentives of shareholders to monitor management. This chapter then concludes with …

Fair Value And Fair Price In Corporate Acquisitions, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In statutory corporate acquisitions, dissenters' rights entitle shareholders of acquired corporations to obtain a "fair value" for their consideration, while common-law fiduciary duties ensure that such shareholders receive a "fair price" in the transaction. Courts, however, have had difficulty defining and measuring fair value and fair price, leaving this area of the law in disarray. This Article reviews the current framework of appraisal rights and fiduciary duties and proposes refined definitions of fair value and fair price that are based on attractive moral and economic values widely shared by society. The proposal respects the expectations of shareholders and provides guidance …

Federal Income Tax Considerations Of Acquisitions Involving S Corporations, Mary L. Harmon

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Legal Factors In The Acquisition Of A United State Corporation: Litigation By Hostile Targets, Johan E. Droogmans

LLM Theses and Essays

Acquisitions of United States corporations have become increasingly complex takeover contests, where bidders and target corporations are forced into offensive and defensive litigation strategies to protect their respective interests. Targets often assert that the bidders have violated federal or state securities laws, federal antitrust laws, federal margin regulations, federal and state regulatory systems, and federal anti-racketeering laws. These lawsuits are primarily based on the principal federal regulation of takeovers in section 14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Williams Act. Target litigation is customary, but entails certain disadvantages; a lawsuit rarely stops an offer, is expensive, …

Government Enforcement Policy Of Section 7 Of The Clayton Act: Carte Blanche For Conglomerate Mergers?, Joseph P. Bauer

Journal Articles

This Article argues that the Department of Justice's recently articulated enforcement intentions with respect to conglomerate mergers are inconsistent with the case law applying section 7 of the Clayton Act to these transactions and also represent unsound policy. Part I will review the conglomerate merger jurisprudence of the past two decades - looking at the theories that have been used to challenge them, at the important judicial decisions interpreting and applying those theories, and at the Guidelines adopted by the Department of Justice in 1968 to codify these developments. It will then briefly discuss certain developments regarding conglomerate mergers the …

Accounting For Mergers, Acquisitions And Investments, In A Nutshell: The Interrelationships Of, And Criteria For, Purchase Or Pooling, The Equity Method, And Parent-Company-Only And Consolidated Statements, Ted J. Fiflis

Publications

No abstract provided.