When valuing an owner’s interest in a closely-held company, the calculation and applicability of a discount for lack of marketability is among the most fertile grounds for sharp disagreement. One open question: should the DLOM account for any contractual restrictions on a controlling owner’s ability to transfer his or her control?
Continue Reading Fueling the DLOM Debate: Control Transfer Restrictions and the Discount for Lack of Marketability

Should courts apply a marketability discount in determining the fair value of interests in realty holding companies? In downstate New York, the answer may vary depending on whether the court lies within the First or Second Departments of the Appellate Division. This week’s New York Business Divorce has the story.
Continue Reading A River’s Divide: Time for the Manhattan and Brooklyn Appellate Courts to Agree on Marketability Discount in Fair Value Proceedings

This 7th annual edition of Summer Shorts presents brief commentary on three must-read decisions in business divorce cases involving the use of special litigation committees in derivative actions by LLC members; dissolution of a family-owned real estate holding corporation and LLC; and a Delaware case in which Chancery Court ordered dissolution of a deadlocked LLC co-owned by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
Continue Reading Summer Shorts: Three Must-Read Decisions

New Jersey’s approach to the marketability discount in statutory fair value cases has been called a “business appraiser’s nightmare.” A recent decision by a New Jersey trial court, in which it applied a 25% marketability discount to penalize a 50% owner found guilty of oppression against the other 50% owner, adds fuel to the debate. Check it out in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Has New Jersey Gone Off Its DLOM Rocker?

This week’s New York Business Divorce previews and links to the latest podcast episode of the Business Divorce Roundtable featuring an interview with business appraiser Greg Barber following publication of his intriguing article in the NY State Bar Association Journal on the hot topic of marketability discounts in statutory fair-value proceedings.
Continue Reading Marketability Discount Revisited: Interview With Greg Barber

This week’s New York Business Divorce announces the birth of its audio cousin, the Business Divorce Roundtable podcast, an interview-format podcast featuring discussions with top experts on timely business divorce topics including, for its premiere episode, an interview with leading business appraiser Chris Mercer.
Continue Reading Announcing the Business Divorce Roundtable Podcast

Justice Alan Scheinkman’s highly detailed, 33-page decision last week in Verghetta v Lawlor, valuing a minority interest in two LLCs that own and operate Planet Fitness health clubs, is must reading for lawyers and business appraisers who handle fair value contests. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Threading the Fair-Value Needle: Court Finds Major Flaws in Both Sides’ Appraisals in Arriving at Its Own Value