Nicholas O'Keefe on DExit Movement

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Nicholas O’Keefe examined whether there were lessons to be learnt from the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision reinstating Elon Musk’s performance award, in Agenda, a Financial Times publication.

O’Keefe observed that because of the changes to DGCL Section 144 and because public company boards already run CEO performance awards through independent compensation committees “there may not be many concrete governance takeaways from the [Delaware] Supreme Court opinion [on Elon Musk’s compensation package].” 

“The decision is part and parcel of DExit,” he said, adding that while some companies may choose to incorporate in other states, “there is a signal here that Delaware is a hospitable state to incorporate in.”

(Subscription required)