Private company investments can produce hefty financial returns, which is why they are so attractive. A private company investment can also be quite risky, however, particularly if, as discussed in our recent post, the investor failed to obtain any type of buy-sell agreement (“corporate pre-nup”) at the time the investment was made and has...
Category: Business Divorce Disputes
The Buy-Sell Agreement a/k/a The “Corporate Pre-Nup”: What Is It, and Why Is it a Vital Part of The Business Plan for Private Companies (and Their Investors)?
“From a relational standpoint, people enter closely-held businesses in the same manner as they enter marriage: optimistically and ill-prepared.” [1]
Every great business begins with a superb product or service that provides the company with a marketplace advantage. Yet, many potentially great companies flame out relatively early in their existence when...
Perilous Waters in Divorce Proceedings: Considering Issues That Arise When A Divorcing Couple Seeks to Divide Stock Options or Restricted Stock
Dividing marital assets in a family divorce is often difficult. The division of assets in a divorce becomes even more challenging when at least one of the spouses owns stock options or restricted stock. For the reasons discussed in this post, divorcing spouses who own stock options or restricted stock should seriously consider entering...
Perilous Waters in Divorce Proceedings: Considering Issues That Arise When A Divorcing Couple Seeks to Divide Stock Options or Restricted Stock Continue reading…
The Texas Supreme Court Speaks (Finally) on the Rights of Minority Shareholders in Private Companies: Let the Investor Beware
If your time to you is worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin'Bob Dylan, 1963
The Texas Supreme Court Speaks (Finally) on the Rights of Minority Shareholders in Private Companies: Let the Investor Beware Continue reading…
The times are changing for minority shareholders of private companies in Texas, but not necessarily for the better. The Texas Supreme...
Not So Fast, Mrs. Sterling! Part II
Donald Sterling’s racist rant has made him one of the most reviled figures in (or related to) sports in recent years, and resulted in a $2.5 million fine and a lifetime ban imposed on him by the NBA. In light of the wall-to-wall coverage this story received, few people are unaware that Shelly Sterling,...
Loser Pays Provisions – Here to Stay? Will We Be Seeing Them In Texas Corporations and LLC’s?
A recent decision by the Delaware Supreme Court upholding the validity of “loser pays” provisions is making waves in corporate shareholder circles, and not just in Delaware. See ATP Tour, Inc., et al. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund, et al., Supreme Court of Delaware, C.A. No. 07-178, May 8, 2014. The Court’s decision is notable,...
Not So Fast, Mrs. Sterling! Part I
Does the spouse of a professional sports team have the right to claim rights as a partial owner of the franchise based on the fact that the ownership of the team is part of the marital community estate? This is by no means an academic question as the recent comments made by Sherry Sterling,...
The Value Question
In politics, it is often all about the economy (stupid). In Business Divorce disputes between majority owners and minority investors in private companies, it is often all about the valuation of the minority held interest.
When a minority shareholder establishes at trial that he has been subject to oppression by the majority owner,...