Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Removing Directors in Private Companies by Written Consent?

A recent order by the Delaware Court of Chancery that interprets standard venture capital financing documents invalidated action taken by the holders of a majority of the common stock of a Delaware corporation to remove and replace the corporation’s CEO and board chairman and an independent director. This serves as a cautionary reminder that governance […]

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Indications of Corporate Control

On March 28, 2018, in In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by stockholders of Tesla Motors, Inc. (“Tesla” or the “Company”). The plaintiffs alleged that Tesla’s Board of Directors, along with its Chairman and CEO, Elon Musk, breached their fiduciary duties […]

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Which Antitakover Provisions Matter?

Researchers disagree sharply over which antitakeover provisions affect a firm’s takeover likelihood. Some argue, for example, that poison pills are the only important takeover deterrents, while others claim that classified boards or coverage by business combination laws are. Other researchers argue that golden parachutes deter takeovers, while some contend that they facilitate takeovers. Similarly, there […]

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The Middle-Market IPO Tax

Thank you so much, Tom, for that kind introduction. It’s a real honor to be here with you today at the Greater Cleveland Middle Market Forum. In addition to leading some of the Nation’s most promising young companies, you all have done exceptional work making sure that the middle market gets the attention it deserves […]

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Weekly Roundup: April 20-26, 2018

Corporate Culture Risk and the Board Posted by Carey Oven, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and Bob Lamm, Deloitte LLP, on Friday, April 20, 2018 Tags: Board monitoring, Board oversight, Boards of Directors, Compliance & ethics, Corporate culture, Disclosure, Management, Risk, Risk management, Risk oversight Lazard’s 1Q 2018 Activism Review Posted by Jim Rossman, Lazard, on Friday, April 20, 2018 Tags: Boards of Directors, Capital markets, ESG, Europe, Hedge funds, Institutional Investors, Institutional voting, International governance, Mergers […]

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Testimony before the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations

Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Quigley and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is an honor to appear before this Committee for the first time, and I would like to thank the […]

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Controlling Shareholder Transactions

We have discussed in recent Fried Frank M&A/PE Briefings the dramatic transformation in Delaware law since about 2014—with a trend toward clearer paths to more certain judicial outcomes. This has been accompanied by a continued contraction of the grounds on which directors may have legal liability in connection with their decisions relating to M&A matters. […]

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A Look Under the Hood of Spotify’s Direct Listing

Spotify finally went public on April 3, following an unusual path known as “direct listing”—the shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange, without any of the contractual or marketing arrangements that attend a typical IPO. No traditional road show or bookbuilding, no allocations. No one promising to sell, no underwriters promising to buy. […]

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A Second Bite at the Apple for Shareholder Activists to Nominate Directors?

Now that we are midway into the 2018 proxy season, most deadlines for shareholder submissions of director nominations for upcoming annual meetings have come and gone. Nevertheless, shareholder activists who have missed a nomination deadline for whatever reason should be aware that in certain circumstances they may have a second bite at the apple. Where […]

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Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2017 Full-Year Review

In the 25th anniversary edition of NERA’s annual study, Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation, we examine trends in securities class action filings and resolutions in 2017. New findings discussed in this year’s report include an increase in filings, again led by a doubling of merger-objection filings. Highlights of the 2017 report include: A […]

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