In late July 2019, U.S. federal and state regulators announced three headline‑grabbing data privacy and cybersecurity enforcement actions against Equifax and Facebook.  Although coverage of these cases has focused largely on their striking financial penalties, as important are the terms the settlements imposed on the companies’ operations as well as their officers, directors, and compliance professionals—and what they signal about potential future enforcement activity to come. Continue Reading July 2019 Privacy and Cybersecurity Enforcement: Lessons for Management and Directors

Institutional investors are howling for US public companies to focus more on the long-term.[1]  This is unsurprising. Long-term focused companies produce significantly better results over time, reporting far greater revenue growth with less volatility, far higher levels of economic profit, and greater total return to shareholders.[2] So if you are holding stock for a long time, a long-term focus for your portfolio companies is critical. Continue Reading Finding Friends is Hard: Long-Term Investors’ Relationship with Proxy Advisors, Activists and Long-Term Private Equity Funds

After the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent Aruba decision,[1] many commentators predicted that, going forward, the Court of Chancery would not rely on the target’s unaffected market trading price to determine fair value in appraisal cases, other than as a “check” on other valuation methodologies.  It may therefore come as a surprise that in a decision issued last Friday, the Court of Chancery determined fair value to be equal to the target’s unaffected trading price.  See In re: Appraisal of Jarden Corporation, Consolidated C.A. No. 12456-VCS (Del. Ch. July 19, 2019).  Although still subject to appeal, this decision is also notable because the fair value determination came out 18% below the deal price despite the petitioners having some success in attacking the target board’s sale process, which involved no pre- or post-signing market check.  Continue Reading Appraisal Update: Unaffected Market Price Makes a Comeback

Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s dismissal of a Caremark claim[1] that arose out of the Blue Bell ice cream listeria outbreak in the mid-2010s.  See Marchand v. Barnhill, No. 533, 2018 (Del. June 18, 2019).  The Delaware Supreme Court’s opinion in this closely watched case provides useful guidance to directors on the proper role of the board in overseeing risk management. Continue Reading Not So Sweet: Delaware Supreme Court Revives Caremark Claim, Provides Guidance On Directors’ Oversight Duties

I. The Transparency Register – A Recap

The 4th EU-Money-Laundering Directive (2015/849), which entered into force in mid-2015, required national legislators of EU Member States to establish, in each jurisdiction, a register for information on the beneficial owners of companies and other undertakings located in such jurisdictions (“Transparency Register”).  Echoing Justice Louis D. Brandeis’ famous metaphor of publicity as a remedy for social and industrial diseases, the Directive states that information on the beneficial ownership of companies is a key factor for tracing criminals who might otherwise hide their identity behind corporate structures. Continue Reading A Hint of Brandeis: Proposed Amendments to the German Transparency Register

On January 1, 2019, the German Act on the Strengthening of Company Pensions (Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz) leading to an amendment of the German Company Pensions Act (Betriebsrentengesetz), including its provisions regarding deferred compensation (Entgeltumwandlung), entered fully into force.

Deferred Compensation

Under the German Company Pensions Act, each employee is generally entitled to request from the employer that a certain part of the employee’s gross salary (up to an amount equal to 4% of the social security contribution ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze), i.e., currently EUR 3,216 per year) is used as deferred compensation for company pension purposes.  According to the newly implemented changes, employers are now obliged to provide their employees with an employer-paid top-up to the employees’ contributions to the deferred compensation.  Continue Reading Changes to Deferred Compensation in Germany

Recently, Vanguard updated its Vanguard Fund proxy voting guidelines, disclosing a proxy voting policy relating to what Vanguard considers to be overboarded directors, based on the evolving role of directors and its assessment of the time and energy required to effectively fulfill director responsibilities.  Continue Reading How Many Directorships is Too Many? Vanguard’s Evolving View

The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) recently had the opportunity to clarify a number of important practical questions of corporate law in connection with asset disposals, the allocation of responsibilities among directors and transactions concluded with board members. We summarize the three relevant decisions from 2018/2019 below. Continue Reading Recent Important Corporate Law Decisions by German Federal Court of Justice

On Friday, the SEC proposed extensive amendments to the rules governing financial disclosures by registrants about businesses they buy or sell.

The proposed amendments primarily relate to disclosures required by Rule 3-05 and Article 11 of Regulation S-X in registration statements and 1934 Act reports, and, for the most part, they would reduce the burden of preparing historical financial statements and pro forma financial information. The proposal follows a broader 2015 concept release on financial disclosures about entities other than the registrant, and it represents another step by the SEC to reduce the burdens on registrants in a careful way that does not take away information that is material to investors.

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.

The modus operandi of shareholder activism is to agitate for change, often involving campaigns to convince other shareholders to support proposals to change the composition of the board and the company’s strategy.

Under UK law a shareholder activist, in its capacity as shareholder, can attack the board and its strategy in the press and in discussions with other shareholders free from the constraints of corporate law duties.  However, in a recent UK High Court decision, Stobart Group v Tinkler, the High Court considered a number of issues which are pertinent to the criticism of boards by shareholder activists who have nominated a director to the board.  This case is a clear warning of the risks to board nominees of shareholder activists who in furtherance of an activist campaign brief against the board in discussions with other shareholders and misuse the company’s confidential information.

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.