Weinberg Center Represented at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting
On August 4, 2012, at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, the Corporate Governance Committee presented the “Dual Class Stock: Value Enhancer or Corporate Governance Killer?” panel moderated by Professor Charles M. Elson, Director, John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware, along with panelists The Honorable Myron T. Steele, Chief Justice, Delaware Supreme Court; Frederick H. Alexander, Partner, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP; Stephen L. Brown, Director & Senior Counsel, TIAA-CREF; Christianna Wood, Former Chair, International Corporate Governance Network; Director H&R Block; Spencer G. Smul, Sr. Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Secretary, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.; and Janice Hester-Amey, Portfolio Manager, CalSTRS.
Dual class stock is a way of financing a business with two different classes of stock, where one class has significant voting control over the company with a smaller economic interest than their voting shares would typically represent. Traditionally, one share, one vote; under the dual class structure, one share may equal ten votes or twenty votes, depending on the structure.
The Weinberg Center recently hosted a panel discussion on dual class stock on April 12, 2012 titled “Dual Class Stock: Cost, Benefits and Future under Delaware Law.”