M&A Deal Price Challenges Spiking in Delaware

The Delaware Chancery Court is seeing a surge in shareholder lawsuits asking it to assess the “fair” market value of merger targets, including Towers Watson & Co. and Jarden Corp.

Since 2012, Delaware appraisal lawsuits have risen 267 percent, to a high of 77 in 2016, according to an analysis of Bloomberg Law data. The number of deals targeted by the suits has risen 140 percent over the same period, reaching a high of 48 deals challenged last year. The 2016 statistics are even starker given that mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. companies fell in 2016, after a blockbuster 2015. ...