Merger and Acquisitions – Board of Director Obligations, Part 1
State corporate law generally provides that the business and affairs of a corporation shall be managed under the direction of its board of directors. Members of the board of directors have a fiduciary relationship to the corporation, which requires that they act in the best interest of the corporation, as opposed to their own. As such, directors owe a corporation a duty of loyalty, honesty and good faith. Generally a court will not second-guess directors’ decisions as long as the board has conducted an appropriate process in reaching its decision. This is referred to as the “business judgment rule”.
Mergers and Acquisitions
However, in certain instances, such as in a merger and acquisition transaction, where a board may have a conflict of interest (i.e. get the most money for the corporation and its shareholders vs. getting the most for themselves via either cash or job security), the board of directors actions face a higher level of scrutiny. This is referred
