We have recently distributed a memorandum entitled Delaware Court Rejects Per Se Rules for Financial Advisor Proxy Disclosures, which discusses the ruling of the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re BEA Systems Inc. Shareholders Litigation, a lawsuit arising out Oracle’s $8.5 billion acquisition of BEA Systems. The court denied plaintiffs’ motion to enjoin a special stockholders’ meeting to vote on the merger on the basis of allegedly insufficient disclosure in the merger proxy. The ruling, issued from the bench, provides helpful further guidance regarding the application of Delaware’s materiality standards, especially as the relate to claims challenging the disclosure of investment banker analyses. The ruling also noted the importance of transactional and market context in evaluating claims that seek to interfere with shareholder decision-making or the timing of a proposed transaction.

The memorandum is available here.

The transcript of oral argument and rulings of the court is available here.