In a roundup and analysis of the top 10 business decisions from 2024, Law360 Canadaincluded Riot Platforms, Inc v. Bitfarms Ltd., 2024 ONCMT 27 as a rare case in which the rights plan of a shareholder was challenged in Ontario in recent years.
The case saw the Capital Markets Tribunal "rewrite the rules and clarify the circumstances in which it would exercise its public interest jurisdiction in the context of such plans," the article explains.
"The decision brings consistency to the standard and provides more predictability than the case-by-case assessment that marked the pre-2016 era before the takeover regime was amended," said partner and co-head of Torys' M&A practice John Emanoilidis.
Going forward, the Capital Markets Tribunal will evaluate whether the applicant "has shown that the plan substantially undermined any of the 'animating principles' under the applicable provisions of Ontario securities law." The Tribunal will also consider whether the existence of the plan has a public dimension that calls for its intervention.
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