Baron & Budd, P.C. Files Suit to Stop Sale of EDS to Hewlett-Packard; Trust Fund Client Alleges Terms Are Unfair to EDS Shareholders
Posted on May 29, 2008
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Baron & Budd, P.C. Files Suit to Stop Sale of EDS to Hewlett-Packard; Trust Fund Client Alleges Terms Are Unfair to EDS Shareholders
DALLAS, May 29 /PRNewswire/ — Dallas-based law firm Baron & Budd, P.C.
has filed suit on behalf of plaintiff client, the Intermountain Ironworkers
Trust Fund (IITF), to stop the sale of Electronic Data Systems (NYSE: EDS)
to Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), alleging that the terms of the sale
agreement are unfair to EDS shareholders.
The proposed sale agreement, which has not been approved by EDS
shareholders, locks the price for EDS stock at $25 per share, prohibits EDS
directors from seeking a higher price from alternative bidders and
guarantees Hewlett-Packard a $375 million pay-off if EDS does not go
through with the sale. On behalf of all EDS’s public shareholders, the IITF
plaintiffs allege that, by entering the agreement, EDS directors breached
their fiduciary duties to the company’s shareholders.
“This deal leaves EDS shareholders out in the cold,” said Russell Budd,
managing shareholder of Baron & Budd. “They had no say in the transaction,
and the company directors who are charged with protecting their interests
looked the other way.”
This case is not Baron & Budd’s first fight to protect shareholder
interests in corporate transactions. As co-lead counsel in In re 7-Eleven,
Inc. Shareholders Litigation, Baron & Budd successfully increased the
tender offer’s price per share in the 2005 transaction that transformed the
convenience store operator from a publicly traded company to a privately
held entity, resulting in a substantial increase in the amount paid to
7-Eleven shareholders.
Baron & Budd attorneys Bruce Steckler and Burton LeBlanc will head up
the law firm’s efforts on behalf of the plaintiffs, along with co-counsel
Randy Pulliam of Cauley, Bowman, Carney & Williams, P.L.L.C. of Little Rock
Arkansas. The case is pending in district court in Collin County, Texas.
About Baron & Budd, P.C.
Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the
rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With 49
attorneys and offices in Texas, California and Louisiana, Baron & Budd
enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs’ bar. The firm
represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by
asbestos; leukemia caused by benzene; injuries caused by other toxic
substances and unsafe pharmaceuticals; water authorities seeking clean-up
costs for drinking water contamination; securities investors defrauded by
corporate wrongdoing; and consumers in class actions.
Contact: Susan Knape of Baron & Budd, P.C.
214-523-6226
SOURCE Baron & Budd, P.C.
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