In a filingwith the Delaware Chancery Court yesterday, IAC/InterActiveCorp. asked thatlegal action by shareholder Liberty Media be dismissed, arguing that itsattempt to remove chairman and CEO Barry Diller and other board directors could”cripple” the company and threaten its quarterly earnings report.
IAC accused
According tovarious press reports, the IAC move is the latest in an increasingly bitter showdownbetween the company and longtime investor
A DelawareChancery judge is expected to hear a motion today from Liberty, which owns a62 percent voting stake in IAC, that would prevent the IAC board from taking anyactions outside the course of ordinary business while the court decides on anumber of other measures, including whether Liberty can lawfully replace Dillerand other board members, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Among otherthings, the two sides had looked at swapping part of
John Coffee, director of the Center on corporate governance at Columbia LawSchool, says Liberty has “a steeply uphill battle” in trying to provethat Diller violated his agreement by expressing his intention to vote in favorof a spinout. “My view is that the defendants have a strong argument thatthe proxy hasn’t been violated, because no vote has been taken,” Coffee toldthe Journal.