Court of Chancery Permits $4.3 Billion Interim Distribution in Altaba Dissolution
November 4, 2020
Publication| Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring| Corporate & Chancery Litigation| Corporate Transactions| Corporate Governance| Mergers & Acquisitions| Special Committees & Investigations
In In re Altaba, the Delaware Court of Chancery, ruling at a preliminary stage of the dissolution process, authorized Altaba Inc. to make an interim liquidating distribution of up to $4.3 billion to its stockholders. Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster’s opinion is noteworthy because it is one of the few opinions to authorize an interim distribution in a case arising under Sections 280 and 281(a) of the General Corporation Law of the state of Delaware, Delaware’s so-called “long-form” dissolution statutes, and is the first opinion to authorize a liquidating distribution of this magnitude. The opinion also provides important guidance with respect to several other issues that arise in long-form dissolutions, and, given the unprecedented size and complexity of Altaba’s dissolution, it will likely be the first of a number of opinions and orders to do so in this case.