The InBev purchase of A-B is what tipped off this topic, but it is just the straw that broke the camel's back as it were.
For those who don't know, InBev is a Belgian brewer who recently offered to buy Anheuser-Busch. At first, A-B turned InBev down and then InBev sued the board for not taking an action in the best interest of the shareholders. Some mutual funds sued the A-B board for the same reason. And one of the Busches did likewise.
Earlier this year, Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo and when, rejected, similar lawsuits ensued.
It's a sad commentary on this country when a board can be sued for not selling the company to a prospective buyer, no matter how good the offer. It smacks of corporate raiderdom. People by stocks of companies so they can sell the stock at a huge profit when some other company gobbles up the first company. What happened to wanting to own a piece of the actual business? If you don't like the performance of the company, either sell the stock or try to get new management.
The idea of suing a board for not selling out is absurd. It should be a distinct separate kind fo shareholder suit and no board should ever be required to sell out the company. If there is to be a sale, it should only be able to be authorized by a supermajority of the stockholders at a shareholder meeting.
Just my 2 cents.
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