On September 6, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) charged Esmark Inc. (“Esmark”) and its Founder/Chairman and former CEO James Bouchard under Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of...more
M&A activity in 2023 was subdued, as dealmakers grappled with geopolitical tensions, inflation, rising interest rates, and increasing regulatory scrutiny, against a backdrop of general economic uncertainty. Challenges in the...more
1/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Shareholder Activism ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
This year’s proxy season saw a significant increase in the number of companies rejecting director nominations by dissident stockholders due to purported non-compliance with the company’s advance notice bylaws....more
A corporation’s net operating losses (NOLs)are important assets that can be used to reduce future taxable income. But certain changes in a corporation’s ownership can significantly reduce the value of those NOLs....more
8/2/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Change of Ownership ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investors ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Poison Pill ,
Section 382 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Sunset Provisions ,
Tax Benefits ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Taxable Income
The general notion among M&A practitioners is that time kills deals. That is even more the case in public deals and even more so in a stock-for-stock deal. To be sure, for each day the deal is not signed, the risk grows that...more
In the last five years, there have been over 150 public company mergers where the acquiror used a mixture of stock and cash as consideration to acquire the target. For 25 of these deals, cash comprised between 40% and 50% of...more
2021 M&A smashed U.S. and global records. The year saw the arrival of a new U.S. administration, the release of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as continued questions regarding the impact of the pandemic, including the year-end...more
1/21/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Services ,
EU ,
Excise Tax ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
NYSE ,
PIPEs ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
REIT ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
UK ,
Universal Proxy Cards ,
Vertical Mergers
The number of stockholder rights plans (also known as “poison pills”) adopted in 2020 significantly increased compared to prior years.
The collapse in public company equity values during the inception of the COVID-19...more
2/25/2021
/ Activist Investors ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Bifurcation ,
Business Ownership ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Executive Boards ,
Grandfathering Rules ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hedge Funds ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Nasdaq ,
Offers ,
Passive Investments ,
Poison Pill ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Rights Plan ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
Triggering Event
2020 brought the COVID-19 pandemic and other headline-grabbing challenges, along with “the usual” quadrennial questions around the U.S. election. Early in the year, businesses and dealmakers focused on the pandemic and...more
1/15/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU Horizontal Safeguard Regulation (HSR) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Rights ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Loans ,
Material Adverse Events ,
Poison Pill ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Remote Working ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On September 21, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) announced proposed amendments that, if enacted, would make significant changes to the premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust...more
The sixth of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles, a shareholder rights plan is a protective measure used by a public...more
The fifth of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles, a shareholder rights plan is a protective measure used by a public...more
The fourth of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles, a shareholder rights plan is a protective measure used by a public...more
The third of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles,[1] a shareholder rights plan is a protective measure used by a public...more
The second of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles, a shareholder rights plan is a defensive measure used by a public...more
The first of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions.
An increasing number of companies are choosing to adopt shareholder rights plans (otherwise known as “poison pills”) in response to...more
5/28/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exceptions ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Mergers ,
Poison Pill ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
Takeovers
The COVID-19 crisis is highlighting pressure points in pending M&A deals that were negotiated before the pandemic’s effects became widespread.
Last week, private equity firm Sycamore Partners terminated its deal to...more
The recent collapse in equity values resulting from the coronavirus crisis has made public companies more vulnerable to opportunistic acquisition and activist strategies. As a result, companies should consider whether they...more
3/31/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Market Pricing ,
Proxy Voting ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Global M&A made another strong showing in 2019, as stock markets, while at times bumpy, rose to new highs, private equity firms raised record funds, and companies searched for growth and ways to address technological and...more
You’ve created a great product and built a valued brand. You’ve devoted countless hours to building relationships with key distributors and retailers, designing attractive packaging, and forging a social media presence. But...more
4/17/2018
/ Brand ,
Data Security ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labeling ,
Popular ,
Recipes ,
Supply Chain ,
USPTO ,
Value Maximization
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) was intended principally to simplify the tax code, reduce individual and corporate tax rates, and allow for the repatriation of cash held overseas at a discounted tax rate. But, as with...more