Rosenblatt v. Getty Oil Co.

Rosenblatt v. Getty Oil Co. 493 A.2d 929 (1985)

Under Fiduciary Duties of Managers

The Delaware Supreme Court held that a majority shareholder may freeze out the minority, that is, force the minority shareholders to convert their shares into cash, as long as the transaction is fair.

Facts:

·         Before the merger, Getty directly owned 7.42% of Skelly's outstanding shares and 89.73% of Mission, which in turn held 72.6% of Skelly's stock.

·         Getty was a large petroleum company concerned primarily with the exploration for and development of crude oil and natural gas throughout the world. Skelly, on the other hand, was an integrated oil company with far flung, diversified operations and activities at the time of the merger. Mission was a Nevada corporation controlled by Getty, and was primarily an investment company with minimal assets other than its Skelly stock.

·         Skelly Oil and Mission Corp. merged into Getty Oil Comp., which was indirectly the majority shareholder of both Skelly and Mission.

·         Until his death on June 6, 1976, J. Paul Getty, the majority shareholder of Getty, had continually opposed the merger of Getty and Skelly.

·         On February 18, 1977, this class action was brought against Getty, challenging the fairness of the exchange ratio in the merger.

Issue: Whether Getty dealt fairly with Skelly throughout the transaction.

Held:

·         Court held that Getty dealt fairly with Skelly throughout the transaction. No credible evidence indicating that Getty, as the majority shareholder, dictated the terms of this merger. The exchange ratio ultimately agreed upon was entirely fair as the product of a careful evaluation of all relevant factors and arm's length bargaining.

·         The Delaware Supreme Court stated that the concept of fairness in parent-subsidiary mergers has two aspects: fair dealing and fair price. Both must be examined together in resolving the ultimate question of entire fairness.

o   As to fair dealing, we noted in Weinberger that the concept included issues of when the transaction was timed, how it was initiated, structured, negotiated, and disclosed to the board, and how director and shareholder approval was obtained.

o   Regarding the second aspect of fairness, fair price, it involves all relevant economic factors of the proposed merger, such as asset value, market value, earnings, future prospects, and any other elements that affect the inherent or intrinsic value of a company's stock.

·         As to the approval of the merger proposal by the Getty and Skelly boards, the record shows that their action was taken on an informed basis. At Skelly's board meeting, the directors were fully briefed by Smith Barney and by Blyth Eastman, on the basis of copies of valuation books prepared and distributed by the two investment banks. Skelly's directors had been given copies of the proxy statement prior to the meeting. Skelly's board received a legal opinion on the merger, as well as copies of D & M's final estimate.

·         The facts show that prior to the initiation of merger negotiations Getty knew that it would be sued. Thus, it sought to structure the transaction to meet the standards imposed by Delaware law.

·         At the initial meeting held on July 15, 1976, Getty and Skelly management were given a legal research memorandum on valuation methods approved by Delaware courts. Moreover, Getty was cognizant of the potential conflicts among the interlocking managements of both companies. Accordingly, at the July 15, 1976 meeting, when Getty designated Kenneth Hill of Blyth Eastman as its chief negotiator, Hill immediately resigned from Skelly's board on which he had served for ten years. Similarly, a partner in the law firm Hays, Landsman & Head, resigned from the Skelly board because the law firm was representing Getty.

Notes: One advantage of a merger was the reduction in exploration, development, and production costs, given the increased reserves of the surviving corporation. Another advantage was the elimination of duplicative managerial positions.