By LaCrecia Perkins and Ladd Hirsch A look back at Business Divorce developments during Texas 2018 reflects a continuing negative trend for private company shareholders[1] who have claims for misconduct against the company’s control group (e.g., majority owners, officers, managers, and/or directors).  The rocky road for Texas shareholders began in 2014 with the Supreme Court’s Ritchie v. Rupe decision,[2] which eliminated the remedy previously available to minority shareholders of securing a court-ordered buyout of…

By Sam Vinson and Ladd Hirsch In his famous “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy, Hamlet anguished over whether his future was worth living. [1] Hopefully, private company founders picture a future less bleak than Hamlet’s grim outlook. When the founders of fast-growing private companies accept new investment capital, however, they need to consider the future of the resulting ownership structure of the business, particularly when the financing involves issuing new company shares. When…

By Jeff Balcombe [1] — We are pleased to present this guest post from Jeff Balcombe, a highly regarded business valuation expert based in Dallas, who is a founding principal with his firm BVA Group. In a perfect world, business partners who reach the point of parting ways would have a clear, unambiguous plan in place governing their separation.  Unfortunately, when they engage in business in the real world, many company owners who need a…

“The bad things you can see with one eye closed. But keep both eyes wide open for the little things. Little things mark the great dividing line between success and failure.” Jacob Braude, Author and Humorist (1896-1970) By Sean Brown[1] and Ladd Hirsch In business, an eyes wide open approach is essential to the successful purchase of a private company. When the purchaser of a private company enters into a letter of intent (“LOI”) or…