Dell to pay $1b to settle claim it shortchanged shareholders
Summary
The financing of the acquisition took significantly longer to close, though, and the swap of special Dell stock that the shareholders were alleging shortchanged them by billions actually took place in late 2018. According to the companys SEC filing today, Dell, along with co-defendants Silver Lake Group and Goldman Sachs, agreed to settle the Delaware suit with former holders of the Class V common stock, who had been claiming Dell and co. breached their fiduciary duties under Delaware law by offering a transaction value that was allegedly "billions of dollars" below fair value. Dell told The Register: "An independent special committee of the board has approved the settlement payment by the company. • Dell melts in face of investor dissent, ups offer for Class V stock • Two weeks before Chrimbo? The complaint also alleged that Dells specially formed committee to assess options for the conversion "was never independent and never conducted real negotiations"; that the process was "tainted by coercive threats"; and that the Class V stockholders did "not receiv[e] critical information necessary to make an informed choice."