On September 26, 2006, U. S District Judge Kenneth Hoyt sentenced former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow to six years’ imprisonment, a reduction from the ten-year term to which Fastow had agreed in his January 2004 plea agreement. According to news reports (here and here), apparently among the factors that Judge Hoyt relied upon
D & O Insurance
Securities Lawsuit Filings Are Down, So What About D & O Rates?
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance
Board Turmoil and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in Corporate Governance, D & O Insurance
Within the last few days, we have witnessed the feuding, dysfunctional H-P Board struggling with the turmoil and adverse publicity arising from its flawed investigation of media leaks. Last week we also saw the forced ouster of Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Peter Dolan. These events follow the removal of the CEOs of some of the…
Four Things to Watch in the World of D & O
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance
The world of directors’ and officers’ liability often seems as if it is in a state of constant change — and it is no wonder, because so many factors affect it: legislation, litigation, volatile securities markets, and the ever-changing global economy. With so many shifting factors and varying dynamics, it can sometimes be difficult to…
More About MBOs and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance, Private Equity
MBOs: Another Example of Private Funding and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance, Private Equity
The D & O Diary has previously written (here and here) about the problems and conflicts of interests that can arise from the involvement of private fund investors (private equity firms, hedge funds and buyout firms) in publicly traded companies. In a September 3, 2006 column in the New York Times (here…
PIPEs Financing and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance, PIPEs Financing
A casual reader of the New York Times business page or the Wall Street Journal might well get the impression that PIPEs (private investments in public equity) financing transactions are the devil’s own handiwork. Both publications have recently run stories fraught with dire tones and ominous insinuantions about PIPEs transactions. The New York Times August…
Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Along with the burgeoning growth of the hedge fund industry has come the increasing importance and influence of activist hedge funds. This activism has taken a variety of forms, from public pressure on portfolio companies to change business strategy, to the running of a proxy contest to gain seats on the boards of directors of…
FCPA, Options Backdating, and D & O Exposure
By Kevin LaCroix on
In this prior post, the D & O Diary noted the recent resurgence of the 70’s vintage statute, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Recent developments in the Comverse Technology options timing investigation underscore the increasing importance of the FCPA, particularly as the options backdating scandal continues to unfold.
On August 9, 2006, the…
Private Money and D & O Risk
By Kevin LaCroix on
Posted in D & O Insurance, Private Equity
The Wall Street Journal’s recent series on "Private Money" describes the "new financial order" arising from "the new rules of private equity game." According to the July 25, 2006 Journal article (subscription required) entitled "Cash Machine: In Today’s Buyouts, Payday is Never Far Away," the new power players are private financiers – hedge funds, buyout…