Monday, February 11, 2013

Einhorn case against Apple rests on unusual legal tactic




Hedge fund honcho David Einhorn wants to force Apple Inc to share some of its huge cash reserves with investors, but his lawsuit rests on a U.S. securities rule that has little legal precedent.

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital sued the iPad and iPhone maker in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday to try to prevent Apple from eliminating preferred stock from its charter. The suit is part of Einhorn's bid to pressure Apple to use some of its $137 billion in cash to issue perpetual preferred shares that pay dividends to existing shareholders.

The suit contends Apple violated Securities and Exchange Commission rules that prohibit companies from "bundling" unrelated matters into a single proposal for a shareholder vote.  Establishing that Apple violated the rules could be tricky. Little to no case law exists on the question and the SEC's own rule is relatively general with little guidance, legal experts said….

Read all about it at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/09/us-apple-greenlight-lawsuit-idUSBRE91713S20130209

No comments:

Post a Comment