Litigation & Arbitration: Post M&A Disputes and Current Challenges
The closing of a deal can be a success for the teams involved, but it also rises up some challenges due to the constant uncertainty of what may happen next, the strategic nature of the transactions, and internal politics.
The examples cited in this publication illustrate how, after a successful merger, critical issues and sometimes M&A disputes can arise.
The reasons for conflict can be diverse, from contractual terms to the share purchase price. A key factor that should not be underestimated are the personnel issues; the recent case of the Twitter acquisition, for instance, and the subsequent layoff of several employees is a good example, and demonstrates how superficial due diligence done upstream of the transaction can affect a successful outcome.
Litigation issues that may occur at the end of an M&A transaction are generally confidential in nature and are most often submitted to arbitration and resolved out of court. In this publication, members of Andersen’s litigation and corporate law departments from several European countries illustrate some examples of disputes that can occur following such a transaction and when it is best to appeal to arbitrations rather than to the law of ordinary courts.
Tatiana Karabanova and Antonio de Paoli, associate and partner at Andersen Italia, in the paper at this link, illustrate some common cases in which disputes can arise during M&A transactions and how Italian jurisprudence generally behaves in assessing the motives of the parties.