TransPerfect's Auction Order Endorsed by Delaware High Court

  • Judge ‘properly exercised” authority to order firm’s auction
  • Co-owners’ disputes led to deadlocks that prompted sale order
Photographer: Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
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TransPerfect Global Inc. can be auctioned off to settle a dispute between its co-owners, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled Monday in rejecting a challenge to a judge’s decision forcing the sale of the translation-software company.

The state’s highest court found Chancery Judge Andre Bouchard “properly exercised” his authority to order the sale last year after the feuding co-CEOs Phil Shawe and Liz Elting created a dysfunctional corporate culture that hurt the tech firm’s operations. The dispute prompted some TransPerfect executives to urge Delaware lawmakers to change state law governing business sales.