Delaware Court Enjoins Poison Pill Adopted in Response to COVID-19-Related Market Disruption
On February 26, 2021, the Delaware Court of Chancery (McCormick, V.C.) issued a memorandum opinion in The Williams Companies Stockholder Litigation enjoining a “poison pill” stockholder rights plan adopted by The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) in the wake of extreme stock price volatility driven by the double whammy of COVID-19 and the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war. While the pill adopted by the board in this case had unusual features (such as a 5% trigger…