Action Items for U.S. Public Companies for 2025

Rapid rulemaking and aggressive enforcement by the SEC, combined with legislative, judicial, and regulatory developments, have created new requirements and expectations for U.S. public companies.

It Took Seven Years But PE Firm Proves No Conflict In Sale Transaction

In 2022, the Defendants in Manti Holdings, LLC v. The Carlyle Group Inc. lost a battle—the Delaware Court of Chancery denied their motion to dismiss claims of breaches of fiduciary duties in connection with the 2017 sale of Authentix Acquisition Company, which had been majority-owned by affiliates of a private equity firm.  Earlier this month, following a week-long trial, they won the war when the court ruled for them on the remaining claims in the case.

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Court of Chancery Resolves Statutory Ambiguity in Favor of Boards Seeking to Increase a Corporation’s Number of Authorized Shares

Recent legislation in Delaware has eased the path of boards of directors who want to increase the number of a corporation’s authorized shares.  In Salama, the Court of Chancery concluded that the General Assembly’s most recent effort in this area, made in 2023, has yielded an ambiguous statute. Salama v. Simon, No. 2024-1124-JTL, 2024 WL 4906737 (Del. Ch. Nov. 27, 2024). The court then resolved that ambiguity in favor of boards and against stockholders opposing share increases.

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Chancery Rejects ‘Quibbles’ As The Basis For Caremark Claims, Underscoring The Wide ‘Gulph’ Between Imperfect Compliance and Purposeful Lawbreaking

On October 1, 2024, in In re TransUnion Derivative Stockholder Litigation, Vice Chancellor Will in the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a derivative suit against the Directors of TransUnion for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duty of oversight in relation to agreements made pursuant to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) consent order.  The Court concluded that Plaintiffs failed to establish a breach under both theories presented, one under Caremark and one under In re Massey Energy, because while the TransUnion Directors may have conducted their oversight duty imperfectly, they did so with a good faith effort.

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Top 15 Posts of 2024

In 2024, Enhanced Scrutiny provided in-depth and practical insights related to M&A and corporate governance decisions and developments from the Delaware courts and other jurisdictions. Read the most popular posts from the past year below. We look forward to continuing our coverage in 2025.

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Unambiguous Language Prevails Over Evidence Of The Parties’ Intent—After Full Trial

Earlier this year, in Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, the Delaware Supreme Court reiterated that “[t]he courts of this State hold freedom of contract in high—some might say, reverential—regard” in interpreting alternative entity agreements. A recent case, Mehra v. Teller, starkly illustrates the court’s strict enforcement of unambiguous contract language. After a full trial, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick upheld an LLC agreement’s plain language despite a conflict with the extrinsic evidence of the parties’ true intent presented at trial.

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Meet the Team

<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/stern-andrew-w">Andrew W. Stern</a>

Andrew W. Stern

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/n/newell-charlotte-k">Charlotte K. Newell</a>

Charlotte K. Newell

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/a/austin-elizabeth-y">Elizabeth Y. Austin</a>

Elizabeth Y. Austin

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/b/bartlett-jaime-a">Jaime A. Bartlett</a>

Jaime A. Bartlett

San Francisco
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/d/ducayet-james-w">Jim Ducayet</a>

Jim Ducayet

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/g/garcia-yolanda-c">Yolanda C. Garcia</a>

Yolanda C. Garcia

Dallas
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/h/heyworth-james">James Heyworth</a>

James Heyworth

New York

<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/k/kaplan-alex-j">Alex J. Kaplan</a>

Alex J. Kaplan

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/lopez-jodi-e">Jodi E. Lopez</a>

Jodi E. Lopez

Los Angeles
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/m/muenz-jon">Jon Muenz</a>

Jon Muenz

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/r/ross-ian-m">Ian M. Ross</a>

Ian M. Ross

Miami
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/sheppard-hille-r">Hille R. Sheppard</a>

Hille R. Sheppard

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/sultanian-heather">Heather Benzmiller Sultanian</a>

Heather Benzmiller Sultanian

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/v/velevis-robert-s">Robert S. Velevis</a>

Robert S. Velevis

Dallas
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/w/wechkin-robin-e">Robin E. Wechkin</a>

Robin E. Wechkin

Seattle

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