Realogy Says Madison Dearborn, SIRVA Breaking Deal Over Pandemic

Realogy Holdings Corp. sued SIRVA Worldwide Inc. and Madison Dearborn Partners in Delaware, trying to stop them from backing out of a $400 million business unit sale over the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The world (and world economy) is besieged by the novel coronavirus,” the lawsuit says. “Despite the fact that the purchase agreement plainly allocated the risk of just such an event to the buyer, the buyer has seized on Covid-19 to justify its 11th hour refusal to close the transaction.”

The Chancery Court suit accuses relocation services company SIRVA and its private equity owners—various Madison Dearborn funds—of using the Covid-19 ...