| Page 840 535 A.2d 840
Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 93,598
John BERSHAD, Plaintiff Below,
Appellant,
v.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION, a Delaware
Corporation, and
Dorr-Oliver Inc., a Delaware Corporation.
Supreme Court of Delaware.
Submitted: Jan. 27, 1987.
Decided: Dec. 30, 1987. Kevin Gross, of Morris and
Rosenthal, P.A., Wilmington, and Lawrence
Milberg (argued), and Steven Schulman, of
Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Specthrie & Lerach,
New York City, of counsel, for appellant.
Robert K. Payson, (argued), and
Arthur L. Dent, of Potter, Anderson &
Corroon, Wilmington, for appellee
Curtiss-Wright Corp.
A. Gilchrist Sparks, III, of
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell,
Wilmington, for appellee Dorr-Oliver Inc.
Before HORSEY, MOORE and WALSH,
JJ.
MOORE, Justice.
Plaintiff, John Bershad, brought
this action against the defendants,
Curtiss-Wright Corporation
("Curtiss-Wright") and Dorr-Oliver
Incorporated ("Dorr-Oliver"), in the Court
of Chancery, challenging a 1979 cash-out
merger of Dorr-Oliver by its parent,
Curtiss-Wright. Bershad alleged (1) that the
merger was effectuated without a proper
business purpose; and (2) that the
shareholder vote approving the merger was
invalid since Dorr-Oliver's proxy statement
failed to inform minority stockholders that
Curtiss-Wright had a strict policy against
selling its 65% holdings in Dorr-Oliver.
The Vice Chancellor held that
under Weinberger v. UOP, Inc., Del.Supr.,
457 A.2d 701 (1983), Bershad's improper
purpose claim failed. In addition, the trial
judge found that defendants did not breach
their fiduciary duty of candor since the
proxy statement fully informed minority
shareholders of all material facts regarding
the merger. The Court of Chancery then
dismissed the claims of Bershad and all
stockholders who either voted in favor of
the merger or accepted its benefits by
tendering their shares for payment under the
merger agreement.
In this appeal, Bershad raises
the same issues, and also asserts that
Curtiss-
Page 842 Wright, as majority shareholder, owed the
minority a fiduciary duty to auction
Dorr-Oliver based on our decision in Revlon,
Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc.,
Del.Supr.,
506 A.2d 173 (1986). Bershad
further contends that Weinberger provides a
quasi-appraisal remedy for all informed
minority shareholders challenging a cash-out
merger effectuated on or before February 1,
1983. We affirm the Vice-Chancellor's
rulings and reject Bershad's contentions
that in these circumstances Revlon requires
a majority shareholder to sell its stock in
a subsidiary to the highest bidder. See,
Ivanhoe Partners v. Newmont Mining Corp.,
Del.Supr., 535 A.2d 1334, 1345 (1987).
Further, Bershad is not entitled to pursue a
quasi-appraisal remedy under Weinberger. An
informed minority shareholder, like Bershad,
who either votes in favor of a merger or
accepts the benefits of the transaction
cannot thereafter attack the fairness of the
merger price.
I.
In March, 1979 Curtiss-Wright
owned 1,642,751 shares of Dorr-Oliver's
common stock, representing 65% of the total
common stock outstanding.
1
Curtiss-Wright began acquiring Dorr-Oliver
stock in 1968, when it originally bought
261,500 shares, and had a continuing program
to purchase up to 80% of Dorr-Oliver's
stock. Thus, Curtiss-Wright owned 21.6% of
Dorr-Oliver in 1968, 55% in 1969, 63% in
1972, and ultimately increased its holdings
to 65% by 1979.
In early 1979, Curtiss-Wright's
board decided that a merger with Dorr-Oliver
would be beneficial to Curtiss-Wright.
2 At a directors
meeting in January, 1979, the Dorr-Oliver
board adopted a resolution authorizing a
study of the proposed merger. Means
Johnston, Jr., an outside independent
Dorr-Oliver director, advised the board
concerning the transaction.
3
Mr. Johnston selected the investment banking
firm of Lazard Freres & Company to advise
the Dorr-Oliver board on the fairness of
Curtiss-Wright's cash-out offer of $23 per
share.
In a letter dated March 13, 1979,
Lazard Freres rendered the following opinion
on the proposal:
In connection with our review of the
proposed terms of the combination, we have
read financial and operating data with
respect to Dorr-Oliver available in
published sources and financial and business
information relating to Dorr-Oliver supplied
to us by the Company. We have also conducted
discussions with the management of
Dorr-Oliver regarding its business,
prospects and financial condition....
We have also considered, among
other things, the market value of the common
stock of Dorr-Oliver in recent years, its
dividend history, net worth, revenues and
earnings in recent years and its future
prospects.
Based on our analysis of the
foregoing and upon such other factors as we
deem relevant, including our assessment of
general economic, market and monetary
Page 843 conditions, we are of the opinion that the
merger exchange rate of $23.00 per share
cash for the shares of Dorr-Oliver not
presently held by Curtiss-Wright is fair to
the shareholders of Dorr-Oliver (other than
Curtiss-Wright) from a financial point of
view.
At a meeting on March 13, 1979,
the Dorr-Oliver board considered this
fairness opinion along with other pertinent
information. With two directors absent, the
board approved the merger agreement at $23
per share by a vote of seven to zero.
4 The agreement as
approved also required a favorable vote of a
majority of Dorr-Oliver's minority
stockholders.
On April 10, Dorr-Oliver issued a
proxy statement announcing a May 10
shareholder meeting. At that meeting, the
merger was approved by a majority of
Dorr-Oliver's minority stockholders. Of the
434,280 minority-owned shares, 346, 287
shares (79.7%) approved the transaction. The
merger became effective on May 31, 1979.
Although no Dorr-Oliver
stockholders filed an appraisal action under
8 Del.C. § 262, plaintiff John Bershad--a
minority shareholder of Dorr-Oliver--filed
two separate complaints challenging the
transaction. Bershad had voted against the
merger, but thereafter tendered his 100
shares of Dorr-Oliver stock and received the
$2,300 merger consideration. The original
complaint alleged (1) that the merger lacked
a proper business purpose, and (2) that the
$23 per share price paid to the Dorr-Oliver
minority was grossly inadequate. In an
amended complaint, Bershad alleged that
defendants breached their fiduciary duty of
complete candor owed to minority
shareholders by omitting material facts in
Dorr-Oliver's proxy statement, thus making
the document false and misleading. Bershad
purportedly filed his complaints on behalf
of a class of Dorr-Oliver shareholders.
However, the class has never been certified.
The Court of Chancery granted
summary judgment in favor of the defendants,
Curtiss-Wright and Dorr-Oliver. The trial
court ruled that under Weinberger v. UOP,
Inc., Del.Supr.,
457 A.2d 701 (1983), which
eliminated the business purpose rule of
Singer v. Magnavox Co., Del.Supr., 380 A.2d
969, 979 (1977) and its progeny, Bershad's
challenge to the merger on the basis of an
improper purpose clearly failed. Bershad v.
Curtiss-Wright Corp., Del.Ch., Nos. 5827 and
5830, slip op. at 8 (March 21, 1983)
(Longobardi, V.C.). In reviewing the
plaintiff's claims the Vice Chancellor
concluded that a full and fair reading of
the proxy statement revealed that:
(1) From time to time, Dorr and
Curtiss had been approached by other parties
expressing an interest in the acquisition of
Dorr or all or part of Curtiss' holdings of
Dorr common stock.
(2) None of the inquiries by
third parties developed to the point where
any offer was made.
(3) In the event the proposed
merger was not consummated, Curtiss had no
present intention of proposing a merger or
other amalgamation of Dorr on terms or
conditions substantially different from
those then proposed.
(4) Curtiss had no present
intention of selling its interest in Dorr or
later selling Dorr or substantially as, an
entity.
(5) Curtiss had a long-term
program of purchasing Dorr common stock on
the open market and, if the merger were not
consummated, Curtiss might continue such
purchase in the future.
(6) As a result of reading the
proxy statement in its entirety, a
reasonable investor would have or, at least
Page 844 should have known, that his investment fate
was tied directly to the whim of Curtiss.
Id. at 12-13.
Considering the above, the trial
judge held that a formal recitation of
Curtiss-Wright's policy of resisting any
sale would not have significantly altered
the total mix of information made available
to minority shareholders. Id. at 14. The
Vice Chancellor found that there was no
breach of any duty of candor, since the
proxy statement sufficiently disclosed all
material facts concerning the transaction.
There being no dispute of any material fact,
summary judgment was granted in favor of the
defendants.
II.
At the outset we agree with the
trial court's conclusion that the issues
were appropriate for disposition by summary
judgment. The Vice Chancellor reasoned:
The Plaintiffs contend that the proxy
statement is inadequate because it does not
completely disclose Curtiss' policy of
discouraging offers from third parties. In
this respect, no additional amount of
evidence could or need be produced and none
is needed to make a legal determination of
the adequacy of the proxy statement. Indeed,
the issue is as narrowly drawn today as it
would be after a complete trial....
Bershad, slip op. at 9.
Our scope and standard of review
on the appeal of a summary judgment decision
is one of de novo consideration. We review
the entire record including the pleadings
and issues raised, affidavits, and other
evidence in the record, as well as the trial
court's opinion. While reviewing those facts
in a light most favorable to the nonmoving
party, this Court then draws its own
conclusions with respect to the facts if the
findings of the trial court are clearly
wrong. We consider whether there is an issue
of fact necessitating a trial on the merits.
If none exists, the matter is ripe for
summary judgment. Fiduciary Trust Co. v.
Fiduciary Trust Co., Del.Supr., 445 A.2d
927, 930 (1982); Alexander Industries, Inc.
v. Hill, Del.Supr., 211 A.2d 917, 917
(1965). See, e.g., Dutra de Amorim v.
Norment, Del.Supr., 460 A.2d 511, 514
(1983).
It is well-settled that summary
judgment may be granted if, on undisputed
facts, the moving party establishes that he
or she is entitled to judgment as a matter
of law. A motion "must be denied if there is
any reasonable hypothesis by which the
opposing party may recover, or if there is a
dispute as to a material fact or the
inferences to be drawn therefrom." Vanaman
v. Milford Memorial Hospital, Inc.,
Del.Supr., 272 A.2d 718, 720 (1970).
Bershad's success in this matter
rests on his claim that Dorr-Oliver's proxy
statement was false and misleading since it
omitted a reference to an alleged
Curtiss-Wright policy to "smother all
interest in Dorr out of hand ... [and to]
discourage offers for Dorr...." There is no
dispute that Curtiss-Wright was uninterested
in selling Dorr-Oliver, and there is no
dispute as to what Dorr-Oliver said in the
proxy statement. Given those circumstances,
the only issue is whether the proxy material
was false and misleading. Thus, the trial
judge properly considered this allegation in
the summary judgment context. We are
satisfied that a complete trial would not
have added anything to the issue.
III.
Initially, we address Bershad's
contention that Curtiss-Wright breached its
fiduciary duty to Dorr-Oliver's minority
shareholders by maintaining a strict policy
against selling the subsidiary. Plaintiff
argues that Curtiss-Wright's decision to
cash-out the Dorr-Oliver minority converted
the former into "predators" and triggered
the application of the fiduciary principles
stated in Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews &
Forbes Holdings, Inc., Del.Supr., 506 A.2d
173, 182-84 (1985). Bershad contends that
the Curtiss-Wright and Dorr-Oliver directors
had a duty to obtain the best possible price
for Dorr-Oliver's stockholders once the
decision to cash-out the minority was made.
In essence, plaintiff objects because
Curtiss-Wright had no intention to
Page 845 sell its majority interest in Dorr-Oliver.
Moreover, Bershad would impose an
affirmative duty on majority shareholders to
auction the corporation when seeking to
cash-out the minority. We reject that
proposition as unsupported by any accepted
principle of law.
Stockholders in Delaware
corporations have a right to control and
vote their shares in their own interest.
They are limited only by any fiduciary duty
owed to other stockholders. It is not
objectionable that their motives may be for
personal profit, or determined by whim or
caprice, so long as they violate no duty
owed other shareholders. Tanzer v.
International General Industries, Inc.,
Del.Supr., 379 A.2d 1121, 1123 (1977). See
Unocal Corp. v. Mesa Petroleum Co.,
Del.Supr., 493 A.2d 946, 958 (1985); Ivanhoe
Partners v. Newmont Mining Corp., Del.Supr.,
535 A.2d 1334, 1341 (1987). Clearly, a
stockholder is under no duty to sell its
holdings in a corporation, even if it is a
majority shareholder, merely because the
sale would profit the minority. See Pogostin
v. Rice, Del.Supr., 480 A.2d 619, 627
(1984).
Panter v. Marshall Field & Co., 646 F.2d
271, 288-89 (7th Cir.), cert. denied,
454 U.S. 1092, 102 S.Ct. 658, 70 L.Ed.2d 631
(1981) (policy of resisting all acquisition
offers does not violate federal securities
law absent deceptive conduct).
Here, Dorr-Oliver was not for
sale. As we recently held
Ivanhoe Partners v. Newmont Mining Corp.,
535 A.2d at 1345, Revlon is inapplicable
in that circumstance. Moreover, from
Dorr-Oliver's standpoint its directors could
not have assumed the role of auctioneers
after the merger decision was made. That
would have been futile. Curtiss-Wright owned
approximately 65% of Dorr-Oliver, and could
thwart any effort by Dorr-Oliver directors
to auction the company.
In parent-subsidiary merger
transactions the issues are those of
fairness--fair price and fair dealing. These
flow from the statutory provisions
permitting mergers, 8 Del.C. §§ 251-53
(1983), and those designed to ensure fair
value by an appraisal, 8 Del.C. § 262
(1983). To adopt Bershad's analysis would
require us to ignore both the statutory
scheme of the General Corporation Law and
well established precedent.
The entire fairness of this
transaction must be reviewed under the
standards imposed by Weinberger v. UOP,
Inc., Del.Supr.,
457 A.2d 701 (1983) and
Rosenblatt v. Getty Oil Co., Del.Supr., 493
A.2d 929, 937 (1985). Thus, we address
Bershad's primary contention--that the
Dorr-Oliver proxy statement was false and
misleading since it did not fully disclose
Curtiss-Wright's policy of discouraging all
offers for Dorr-Oliver.
IV.
A.
When a majority shareholder
stands on both sides of a transaction, the
requirement of fairness is "unflinching" in
its demand that the controlling stockholder
establish the entire fairness of the
undertaking sufficient to pass the test of
careful scrutiny by the courts. Rosenblatt
v. Getty Oil Co. Del.Supr., 493 A.2d 929,
937 (1985); Weinberger v. UOP, Inc.,
Del.Supr., 457 A.2d 701, 710 (1983). As we
stated in Weinberger:
The concept of fairness has two
basic aspects: fair dealing and fair price.
The former embraces questions of when the
transaction was timed, how it was initiated,
structured, negotiated, disclosed to the
directors, and how the approvals of the
directors and stockholders were obtained.
The latter aspect of fairness relates to the
economic and financial considerations of the
proposed merger, including all relevant
factors: assets, market value, earnings,
future prospects, and any other elements
that affect the intrinsic or inherent value
of a company's stock. (citations omitted)
However, the test for fairness is not a
bifurcated one as between fair dealing and
fair price. All aspects of the issue must be
examined as a whole since the question is
one of entire fairness. However, in a
non-fraudulent transaction we recognize that
price may be the preponderant consideration
Page 846 outweighing other features of the merger.
Weinberger, 457 A.2d at 711.
The defendants bear the initial
burden of establishing the fairness of the
merger. However, approval of the merger, as
here, by an informed vote of a majority of
the minority shareholders, while not a legal
prerequisite, shifts the burden of proving
the unfairness of the merger entirely to
Bershad. Nonetheless, the defendants retain
the burden of proving complete disclosure of
all material facts relevant to the merger
vote. Weinberger, 457 A.2d at 703;
Rosenblatt, 493 A.2d at 937. In evaluating
whether defendants satisfied their fiduciary
duty of candor, the question is one of
materiality. Smith v. Van Gorkom, Del.Supr.,
488 A.2d 858, 890 (1985). The following
materiality standard is applied to the
alleged misleading omissions:
An omitted fact is material if there is a
substantial likelihood that a reasonable
shareholder would consider it important in
deciding how to vote. This standard is fully
consistent with Mills [v. Electric Auto-Lite
Co., 396 U.S. 375, 90 S.Ct. 616, 24 L.Ed.2d
593 (1970) ] general description of
materiality as a requirement that 'the
defect have a significant propensity to
affect the voting process.' It does not
require proof of a substantial likelihood
that disclosure of the omitted fact would
have caused the reasonable investor to
change his vote. What the standard does
contemplate is a showing of a substantial
likelihood that, under all the
circumstances, the omitted fact would have
assumed actual significance in the
deliberations of the reasonable shareholder.
Put another way, there must be a substantial
likelihood that the disclosure of the
omitted fact would have been viewed by the
reasonable investor as having significantly
altered the "total mix" of information made
available.
Rosenblatt, 493 A.2d at 944
(quoting
TSC Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426
U.S. 438, 449, 96 S.Ct. 2126, 2132, 48
L.Ed.2d 757 (1976)) (emphasis in
original).
B.
The Dorr-Oliver proxy statement
described the Board's approval of the
merger, disclosed the Lazard Freres fairness
opinion, and highlighted Curtiss-Wright's
control of Dorr-Oliver. It also outlined the
key provisions of the merger agreement and
detailed the shareholders' appraisal rights.
Most important to this litigation, however,
are two sections of the proxy statement
which addressed Curtiss-Wright's intentions
and disclosed inquiries concerning the
acquisition of Dorr-Oliver:
Intentions of Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss-Wright has advised the
Company that Curtiss-Wright has no present
plans to cause any material changes to be
made in the management or the operations of
the Company. In addition, Curtiss-Wright
also has stated that, in the event that the
proposed merger described in this Proxy
Statement is not consummated, Curtiss-Wright
has no present intention of (i) making a
tender offer for shares of Common Stock not
owned by it or (ii) proposing a merger or
other amalgamation involving the Company on
terms and conditions substantially different
from those presently proposed. However,
Curtiss-Wright has indicated that if the
merger is not effectuated, it may purchase
shares of Common Stock of the Company in the
future, depending on market conditions,
economic conditions, interest rates and
other factors then deemed to be relevant.
Curtiss-Wright has also advised
the Company that Curtiss-Wright has no
present intention of selling its interest in
the Company or later selling the Company as,
or substantially as, an entirety.
* * *
* * *
Inquiries Concerning the Company
From time to time, the Company
and Curtiss-Wright have been approached by
other parties expressing an interest in the
acquisition of the Company or all or part of
Curtiss-Wright's holdings of Common Stock of
the Company. None of these inquiries has
developed to the point where any offer was
made.
Page 847
Plaintiff asserts that the proxy
statement was deficient since it failed to
state that the real reason no offer was made
was because the defendants squelched any
interest generated by prospective
purchasers. This omission allegedly "made it
impossible [for the shareholders] to test
the fairness of the $23 merger price against
the values which would have been generated
in arm's-length bargaining." Further,
"Dorr's minority shareholders were misled
into believing that third-party enterprises
were not sufficiently interested in Dorr to
come forward with attractive offers ..." In
summary, plaintiff urges us to find that the
omission of a statement that Curtiss-Wright
maintained a strict policy that Dorr-Oliver
was not for sale (1) was a material fact,
(2) was omitted from the proxy statement,
and (3) that disclosure of this fact would
have significantly altered the total mix of
information made available to the
shareholders.
Bershad contends that the
defendants should have disclosed their
actions in discouraging all offers for
Dorr-Oliver. To support this argument,
plaintiff loosely characterizes certain
casual inquiries made by Indian Head, Inc.
and Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. in 1977 as
serious efforts to acquire Dorr-Oliver.
However, the facts clearly indicate that
representatives of Indian Head and
Curtiss-Wright met at the request of Drexel
Burnham to discuss the availability of
Dorr-Oliver. T.R. Berner, Curtiss-Wright's
President and Chief Executive Officer,
informed all parties that Dorr-Oliver was
not for sale. Further, Indian Head
representatives did not have detailed,
non-public financial data on Dorr-Oliver and
never seriously considered making an offer
for the company. In fact, Indian Head's
president, Marshall F. Smith, indicated that
it was his belief "that we were there,
brought together by Drexel Burnham, who was
plying their trade, not very successfully."
This 1977 meeting is Bershad's strongest
evidence that the defendant's
"systematically squelched" all offers
out-of-hand.
Curtiss-Wright, of course, had no
duty to sell Dorr-Oliver to anyone. As for
Bershad's claim that defendants were
obligated to disclose their policy of
resisting all offers for Dorr-Oliver, we
find that the proxy statement adequately
informed the minority stockholders that
their investment fate was in the hands of
Curtiss-Wright. We agree with the Vice
Chancellor's conclusion that any formal
recitation of this policy would not have
significantly altered the total mix of
information available to the minority
shareholders.
We also find that the defendants
were under no duty to disclose the substance
of their discussions with Indian Head or any
other casual inquiries they received about
Dorr-Oliver. Efforts by public corporations
to arrange mergers are immaterial under the
Rosenblatt v. Getty standard, as a matter of
law, until the firms have agreed on the
price and structure of the transaction.
Flamm v. Eberstadt, 814 F.2d 1169, 1174 (7th
Cir.1987);
Greenfield v. Heublein, Inc., 742 F.2d 751,
756-58 (3d Cir.1984);
Reiss v. Pan American World Airways, Inc.,
711 F.2d 11, 14 (2d Cir.1983);
Staffin v. Greenberg, 672 F.2d 1196, 1204-07
(3d Cir.1982).
Levinson v. Basic Inc., 786 F.2d 741, 746
(6th Cir.1986), cert. granted, 479 U.S.
1083, 107 S.Ct. 1284, 94 L.Ed.2d 142 (1987).
5 Since it is
undisputed that: (1) Dorr-Oliver, was not
for sale, and (2) no offer was ever made for
Dorr-Oliver, the defendants were not
obligated to disclose preliminary
discussions regarding an unlikely sale. The
proxy statement fully met the disclosure
standards adopted by us in Rosenblatt v.
Getty.
Page 848
V.
We turn to Bershad's contention
that Weinberger provides a quasi-appraisal
remedy for informed shareholders who either
tendered their shares or voted in favor of
the merger.
After determining that the
shareholder vote was an informed one, the
Vice Chancellor dismissed the claims of any
stockholder who either voted in favor of the
merger, or like Bershad, accepted its
benefits. Bershad claims that Weinberger
preserves a "quasi-appraisal" remedy for all
Dorr-Oliver minority stockholders
challenging the fairness of a cash-out
merger occurring on or before February 1,
1983. The thrust of Weinberger is to protect
those rights of minority stockholders which
have been tainted by an element of
unfairness. Weinberger, 457 A.2d at 703,
711-15.
Rabkin v. Phillip A. Hunt Chemical Corp.,
Del. Supr., 498 A.2d 1099, 1105-08 (1985).
However, when an informed minority
shareholder either votes in favor of the
merger, or like Bershad, accepts the
benefits of the transaction, he or she
cannot thereafter attack its fairness.
Trounstine v. Remington Rand, Inc., Del.Ch.,
194 A. 95, 99 (1937). Since Bershad tendered
his shares and accepted the merger
consideration, he acquiesced in the
transaction and cannot now attack it.
This ruling as to Bershad does
not, however, necessarily end the matter.
The suit also was purportedly filed as a
class action on behalf of former Dorr-Oliver
stockholders who neither voted in favor of
the merger nor tendered their shares. Since
suit was filed on March 14, 1979, and the
merger became effective on May 31, 1979,
such stockholders technically come within
the "window" provided by Weinberger,
6 following our
announcement of that decision on February 1,
1983. Accordingly, the case will be remanded
to the Court of Chancery for disposition of
the class action issue and any proper claims
of shareholders who did not vote in favor of
the merger or tender their shares.
Finally, we note that Dorr-Oliver
was subsequently sold by Curtiss-Wright and
is now a subsidiary of Kennicott, Inc. No
claim has been stated against Dorr-Oliver,
and we find that it is not a necessary party
to the fairness issue and should be
dismissed from the case on remand.
Accordingly, the judgment of the
Court of Chancery is AFFIRMED. The matter is
REMANDED for further proceedings consistent
herewith.
1 Dorr-Oliver was principally engaged in
selling process equipment and systems for
the continuous separation, mixing, handling
or other treatment of solids or gases. In
addition, the company sold equipment used in
connection with mining operations and
designed process equipment stations and
systems.
2 Curtiss-Wright provided the following
reasons for the merger:
(a) The company's credit standing would
be enhanced by the sound financial position
of Dorr-Oliver.
(b) The cash and other resources of both
companies could be treated as a pool of
resources which could be utilized by both
companies in the conduct of their business
activities.
(c) Curtiss-Wright would be free of the
constraints arising from potential conflicts
of interest between itself and the minority
shareholders of Dorr-Oliver.
(d) Economies could be realized by both
companies through integrated procurement of
insurance, employee benefits and other
items.
3 In this context the term "outside
independent director" refers to a director
who had no affiliation with Curtiss-Wright,
and as to Dorr-Oliver, one who had no such
affiliation except that of director.
4 Three of the seven directors at the
meeting were then officers and/or directors
of Curtiss-Wright, and a fourth director was
a son-in-law of Mr. Berner, the Chairman of
Curtiss-Wright, who also was a Dorr-Oliver
director. A fifth director was the president
and chief executive officer of Dorr-Oliver.
On the basis of this limited record we,
therefore, cannot conclude that the
foregoing action is entitled to the
presumptions that generally attach to
decisions of a board whose majority consists
of truly outside independent directors.
Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes
Holdings, Inc., Del.Supr., 506 A.2d 173, 176
n. 3 (1986).
5 This bright line rule is useful. First,
the effect of premature disclosure of merger
discussions may be substantial. The
probability of completing a merger
benefiting all shareholders may well hinge
on secrecy during the negotiation process.
Second, the benefits of certainty supply
additional support for a price and structure
standard. Without this bright line standard,
it would be very difficult for those
responsible individuals to determine when
disclosure should be made. Regardless of
when disclosure is made, some investors will
always argue that disclosure should have
been made earlier.
Flamm v. Eberstadt, 814 F.2d 1169, 1175-78
(7th Cir.1987).
6 To protect the interests of such
stockholders, we stated:
Obviously, there are other litigants,
like the plaintiff, who abjured an appraisal
and whose rights to challenge the element of
fair value must be preserved. Accordingly,
the quasi-appraisal remedy we grant the
plaintiff here will apply only to: (1) this
case; (2) any case now pending on appeal to
this Court; (3) any case now pending in the
Court of Chancery which has not yet been
appealed but which may be eligible for
direct appeal to this Court; (4) any case
challenging a cash-out merger, the effective
date of which is on or before February 1,
1983; and (5) any proposed merger to be
presented at a shareholders' meeting, the
notification of which is mailed to the
stockholders on or before February 23, 1983.
Thereafter, the provisions of 8 Del.C. §
262, as herein construed, respecting the
scope of an appraisal and the means for
perfecting the same, shall govern the
financial remedy available to minority
shareholders in a cash-out merger. Thus, we
return to the well established principles of
Stauffer v. Standard Brands, Inc.,
Del.Supr., 187 A.2d 78 (1962) and David J.
Greene & Co. v. Schenley Industries, Inc.,
Del.Ch., 281 A.2d 30 (1971), mandating a
stockholder's recourse to the basic remedy
of an appraisal.
Weinberger, 457 A.2d at 714-15. |