(Reuters) – A Delaware state court docket has licensed a class of former Pivotal Software program Inc buyers accusing controlling shareholders Dell Applied sciences Inc and VMWare Inc of pushing for Pivotal’s $2.7 billion buyout at their expense.
Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Courtroom certified the investor class on Thursday and named Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and Block & Leviton co-lead class counsel.
The companies, that are representing class consultant Kenia Lopez, didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Friday. Neither did the Alston & Fowl attorneys representing Dell or the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher attorneys advising VMware. A consultant for VMWare declined to remark.
VMWare bought the remaining stake in software program improvement and administration instruments maker Pivotal in December 2019. On the time of the deal, which took Pivotal non-public, Dell was the controlling shareholder of each corporations.
Former Pivotal shareholder Lopez sued Dell and VMWare in June 2020, alleging that the businesses orchestrated an “opportunistic” transaction at minority buyers’ expense. The businesses have denied wrongdoing.
McCormick dismissed one declare towards a former Pivotal government in a June listening to, following Dell and VMWare’s motions to dismiss.
The case is In Re: Pivotal Software program, Inc Stockholders’ Litigation, Delaware Courtroom of Chancery, No. 2020-0440.
For Lopez and the class: Jeroen van Kwawegen, Edward Timlin and Gregory Varallo of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann; and Jason Leviton and Joel Fleming of Block & Leviton
For Dell: John Latham, Cara Peterman and Andrew Sumner and Gidon Caine of Alston & Fowl;
For VMware: Michael Celio, Brian Lutz and Laura O’Boyle of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
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Sierra Jackson
Sierra Jackson stories on authorized issues in main mergers and acquisitions, together with deal work, litigation and regulatory modifications. Attain her at [email protected]