Cardiff Acquisitions, Inc. v. Hatch

751 F.2d 917
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit·Decided December 14, 1984·No. No. 84-5229·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

ORDER

I. BACKGROUND.

This matter is before this Court for the second time. When it was initially before us, we held that the Minnesota Corporate Take-Overs Act, 1984 Minn.Laws eh. 488, to be codified as Minn.Stat.Ann. chs., 80B and 302A, was not, for the most part, facially unconstitutional and that the Commerce Commission of the State of Minnesota could require disclosures in addition to those required under the Williams Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78m(d)-(e) and 78n(d)-(f) (1982), so long as the disclosures are purely factual and not judgmental in nature, are not inconsistent with the Williams Act, and are not unduly burdensome to interstate commerce. Cardiff Acquisitions, Inc. v. Hatch, 751 F.2d 906 (8th Cir.1984), affirming in part and reversing in part, 597 F. Supp. 1493. Applying these standards, we held that- the Commissioner’s decision that Cardiff failed to disclose with adequate specificity the source of its financing was not an abuse of discretion. Id. at 915. We further held that the Commissioner had erred in requiring Cardiff to go beyond the disclosure of “any material pending legal or administrative proceedings in which the of-feror or any of the subsidiaries is a party” by requiring them to evaluate any pending lawsuits. Id. at 916. We finally expressed our view that disclosure of a potential two-tier offer was not required by the Minnesota Act, but we declined to rule on the [919]*919substantive provision proscribing two-tier offers. Id. at 916.

Since our order was issued on November 29, 1984, no additional filings have been made with the Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce. Meanwhile, a proceeding was pending before the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota in which Conwed sought to enjoin Cardiff from going forward with its tender offer in states other than Minnesota on the theory that Cardiff had violated the Williams Act by failing to make appropriate disclosures, and had or would violate the Federal Reserve Board’s margin regulations, promulgated pursuant to section 7 of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78g (1982), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. §§ 80a-l through 64 and 80b-l through 21 (1982). On November 28, 1984, the district court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction. In its opinion, the court outlined in some detail the assertions and arguments of the parties and, quoting Dataphase Systems, Inc. v. C.L. Systems, Inc., 640 F.2d 109 (8th Cir.1981), set forth the standards that should be used by it in deciding the motion for a preliminary injunction. It concluded:

There is a threat of irreparable harm to the movant Conwed. Without the preliminary injunction, it is possible that Conwed will be taken over by a successful tender offer by Cardiff based on allegedly inadequate disclosure before a trial on the merits can be held. * * * [Tjhere is the potential for injury to Conwed even if Cardiff is unable to purchase a controlling interest in Conwed. For example, Conwed may find it necessary to buy out whatever interest Cardiff obtains in order to effectively conduct its business. That could result in a substantial outlay of capital by Conwed.
The threat of irreparable injury to Conwed, however must be balanced with the injury to Cardiff and Leucadia if the injunction is granted. The balance in this case tips in favor of Cardiff and Leucadia. Cardiff and Leucadia have already had their tender offer suspended as to Minnesota shareholders. An injunction by this court would enjoin Cardiff’s tender offer nationwide and effectively defeat it. Thus, while there is a potential for injury to Conwed if the injunction is not granted, it is almost certain that Cardiff and Leucadia will be injured if it is granted; and that injury will be severe.
[EJither Conwed or Cardiff and Leucadia could prevail on the merits.
Finally, the public interests in this case are conflicting. The investing public must be protected from false and misleading tender offers. A principal purpose of the Williams Act is to assist a shareholder, faced with a tender offer, to make a well informed decision as to whether to tender his or her shares. * * * On the other hand, the public interest is also served by allowing the investing public to consider the merits of a tender offer and, in appropriate cases, to tender their shares at a premium. * * * Further, shareholders who tender their shares based on what is later determined to be false information have available to them an action for damages.
In conclusion, the balance of equities in this case does not so favor the movant Conwed as to require this court to enter a preliminary injunction to prevent injustice.

After this Court’s order of November 29, 1984, concerning disclosure under the Minnesota Act, Conwed requested the district court to reconsider its denial of its motion for an injunction under the Williams Act. The district court denied the request. Conwed immediately appealed and we granted an expedited hearing on December 4,1984. After hearing from both parties, a single Judge of this Court entered the following order:

That the request for an order enjoining the further acquisition of stock by Cardiff during the current tender offer period is denied.
That if Cardiff elects to extend the termination date of its tender offer, Cardiff is temporarily enjoined from accepting any [920]*920shares for payment tendered after midnight December 4, 1984, until further order of the Court.

This matter has now been heard by a three-judge panel.

II. DISCUSSION.

The issue is whether the district court erred in denying Conwed’s motion for a preliminary injunction and whether the temporary order issued by a single Judge of this Court should remain in effect pending the remand for resolution of the merits, or whether it should be modified or dissolved. In deciding this issue, we should affirm the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction unless there has been an abuse of discretion or a clear error of law.

Conwed claims that the district court clearly abused its discretion by failing to enjoin the tender offer on the ground that Cardiff's 14D-1 filing is inadequate in four respects:

(1) Source of Financing.

Item 4 on Schedule 14D-1, in relevant part, requires the following disclosure:

Item 4. Source and amount of funds or other consideration, (a) State the source and the total amount of funds or other consideration for the purchase of the maximum number of securities for which the tender offer is being made.
(b) If all or any part of such funds or other consideration are or are expected to be directly or indirectly, borrowed for the purpose of the tender offer:

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Cardiff Acquisitions, Inc. v. Hatch, 751 F.2d 917 (8th Cir. 1984).

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