Delaware lawmakers will introduce a bill this week that would mandate a three-year waiting period before forcing the sale of a company incorporated in the state.
The bill comes in the wake of a decision by the Court of Chancery ordering the sale of TransPerfect, a profitable global translation company. The case involved two owners and former lovers who were unable cooperate in running the company, leading to a deadlock on the board.
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, a lobbying group formed in response to the decision, has championed the bill as a remedy to judicial overreach.
"For months, we have tried to cooperate with the Corporate Bar Committee and follow a process that was always rigged against us by entrenched interests and the status quo. Today begins our quest to save jobs, and end this massive injustice anew,” said campaign manager Chris Coffey.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, have framed the case as a strike against Delaware's status as a business-friendly state.
“I am proud to stand with Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware to introduce a bill which will strengthen our economy and preserve Delaware’s place as the best place to incorporate business,” said Senator Colin Bonini, co-sponsor of the bill. “We need successful, profitable businesses like TransPerfect to stay in Delaware – and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature to make sure we can keep companies like them here,” he added.
Shirley Shawe, a one percent owner of TransPerfect, recently ceded her vote in the boardroom in order to break the deadlock that caused the Chancery Court's decision
