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Simpson Thacher Wins Victory For KKR In Preliminary Injunction Hearing

06.14.07

On Wednesday, June 13, Simpson Thacher successfully opposed an attempt to block the shareholder vote on KKR's $7 billion bid for Tennessee retailer Dollar General. Plaintiffs brought a motion in state court in Nashville to enjoin the vote, which is scheduled for June 21, 2007, claiming (among other things) that KKR's offer of $22 per share for Dollar General was too low, the Board of Directors of Dollar General had breached their fiduciary duties in entering into the agreement with KKR and that material information regarding the projected performance of the Company had not been disclosed to shareholders in the proxy statement.

Plaintiffs were permitted to take expedited discovery prior to the hearing and deposed six witnesses in six days in Nashville, Palo Alto and New York. The Defendants also produced thousands of pages of documents related to the deal on an accelerated schedule and participated in several hearings on disputed discovery matters while simultaneously briefing the motion. After lengthy oral argument, Judge Thomas W. Brothers of the Sixth Circuit Court for the 20th Judicial District of Tennessee denied Plaintiffs' motion from the bench, finding that Plaintiffs had failed (despite their extensive and accelerated discovery) to produce any evidence to justify an injunction, including a failure to show any substantial likelihood of success on the merits.

The Simpson Thacher team was Michael Chepiga, Peter Kazanoff, Ted McEvoy, Amy Semet and Misha Vanyo, ably assisted by Doug Henderson.