The first and last time I wrote about the AriZona Iced Tea dissolution case — likely the biggest ever of its kind in New York — was four years ago, when 50% owner and co-founder John Ferolito filed his petition under Section 1104-a of the Business Corporation Law for judicial dissolution of the collection of companies that produce beverages and food products under the popular AriZona Iced Tea brand.
Since then, there’s been a multitude of trial and appellate decisions in that and several related lawsuits between Ferolito and the other co-founder and 50% shareholder, Domenick Vultaggio, all of which eventually were consolidated for trial starting last May before Nassau County Commercial Division Justice Timothy S. Driscoll, to whom the task fell of determining the fair value of the Ferolito shares pursuant to AriZona’s BCL Section 1118 buyout.
As you might expect, this was no ordinary valuation trial. Ferolito valued AriZona at $3.2 billion versus Vultaggio’s $426 million. For over a month, Justice Driscoll heard the testimony of 34 lay and expert witnesses, many of whom supplemented their in-court testimony with affidavits totaling about 1,000 pages, in addition to tens of thousands of pages of exhibits introduced into evidence. The parties filed post-trial memoranda last August, followed by oral summations in September, followed by more post-trial memoranda.
The wait is over. In a 42-page decision dated October 14, 2014 (2014 NY Slip Op 32830(U)), relying solely on the Discounted Cash Flow method, Justice Driscoll valued the entire enterprise somewhere around $1.4 to $1.5 billion after applying a 25% marketability discount. The number’s fuzziness reflects post-decision adjustments that will have to be calculated based on certain findings made by Justice Driscoll that departed from some of the assumptions made by the parties’ experts. According to Justice Driscoll’s self-described “back-of-the-envelope” calculations, the value of Ferolito’s 50% stock interest currently “approaches” $1 billion when pre-judgment interest is added at the rate of 9%. Justice Driscoll also left to future proceedings the critical question of AriZona’s ability to pay the fair value award, and its impact on the terms and conditions of any payout. Continue Reading Court Rejects Potential Acquirers’ Expressions of Interest, Relies Solely on DCF Method to Determine Fair Value of 50% Interest in AriZona Iced Tea