Block & Leviton LLP Investigates Taminco Corporation for Possible Breaches of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with Its Merger with Eastman Chemical Co.
BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockesq.com), a Boston-based law firm representing investors nationwide, has commenced an investigation into possible breaches of fiduciary duty by the Board of Directors of Taminco Corporation ("Taminco" or the "Company") (NYSE: TAM) concerning its proposed merger with Eastman Chemical Co. ("Eastman") (NYSE: EMN).
Taminco stockholders will receive only $26 for each Taminco share held. This represents a premium of barely 9% of Eastman's previous closing price. Shares of the Company had increased approximately 13% in just the month prior to the announcement of the proposed transaction, showing that the purported premium would likely have been eclipsed in short order. The total transaction value of the merger is estimated at $2.8 billion.
The private equity firm Apollo Global Management ("Apollo") owns 54% of the Company and has agreed to vote in support of the proposed transaction. Apollo also controls 5 of the 11 seats on the Company's board of directors. Eastman will become the third owner of Taminco in the previous 3 years, as Apollo, which took the Company public in April 2013, acquired it from CVC Capital Partners in 2011. The transaction appears to be designed to achieve liquidity for the substantial stake Apollo holds in Taminco without any accompanying dilutionary effects which are typically found with the sale of such a large block of stock.
Block & Leviton's investigation seeks to determine, among other things, whether Taminco's Directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to maximize shareholder value in the proposed merger with Eastman and the fairness of the process by which they considered and approved the transaction. The firm is also investigating whether or not Eastman's officers and board members aided and abetted such breaches of fiduciary duty.
If you are a shareholder of Taminco and have questions about your legal rights, or if you have information relevant to this investigation, please contact attorney Steven P. Harte, at (617) 398-5600 or email him at [email protected].
Block & Leviton is a Boston-based law firm representing investors nationwide for violations of securities laws. The firm's lawyers have collectively been prosecuting securities cases on behalf of investors for over 70 years. This notice may constitute attorney advertising.
Contact:
BLOCK & LEVITON LLP
Steven P. Harte, Esq.
[email protected]
(617) 398-5600
SOURCE Block & Leviton LLP
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