Academic

Before signing off, I want to thank The Conglomerate for allowing me to use this forum to share some of my ideas with all of you.  I would also like to thank the terrific readers who have reached out to me these past few weeks with some very insightful comments.  I am impressed by the wide readership of The Conglomerate which includes scholars, practitioners and students.  Earlier in my posts I asked whether "to blog or not to blog" and, thanks to the input from David, Usha, and some Glom readers, I look forward to blogging again in the near future.  I am beginning to be convinced that (to borrow from Edward R. Murrow) ?This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and even it can inspire, but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends.?  So I hope The Conglomerate crew continues with the great work that keeps those like me inspired followers.

As for me, I hope to continue my research on reverse termination fee (RTF) provisions.  In one of my earlier posts I talked about the increasing use of RTF provisions to provide greater contractual flexibility and greater creativity in allocating deal risks.  I also spoke about some of the lingering problems of the RTF structure, including the process by which the actual amount of the fee was set and the lack of clear disclosure to shareholders about the risks faced by both the buyer and the seller when agreeing to contracts with RTF structures.  Some of these problems have much to offer for judicial review of board decision-making and public company disclosure ? topics that I will explore in a companion paper that I hope to post on SSRN in the coming months.  Of course I welcome your thoughts on these topics.