Deals
Good Faith on Taxes at Center of Energy Transfer Court Spat
- Williams Cos., Energy Transfer in court over stalled merger
- Both companies accuse each other of violating agreement
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A key issue in the legal battle between Energy Transfer Equity LP and Williams Cos. over their stalled merger will be the sincerity of lawyers who concluded the deal between the pipeline operators is marred by tax complications, a judge said Tuesday.
“It matters if it was made in good faith,” Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock said of the lawyers’ findings that the combination can’t close because of tax issues. Glasscock heard arguments during a two-day trial in Georgetown over Williams’s claims that Energy Transfer is trying to scuttle the merger because of buyer’s remorse. The judge said he would hand down a ruling on Friday, ahead of a vote by Williams’s shareholders on June 27.