Silver Lake has sued Carl Icahn and dozens of hedge funds to stop appraisal claims arising from its 2025 purchase of Endeavor. The funds bought shares after the deal was announced—some above the $27.50 offer—and argue that the company’s majority stake in TKO, owner of UFC and WWE, supports a higher value. A Delaware judge can set fair value above or below the deal price. Icahn’s own case is a separate fiduciary-duty action. Reuters, September 21
Conventional merger-spread intuition has limited use here. Capital can remain tied up while valuation evidence, expenses and the evolving TKO stake do more work than the original closing timetable. Silver Lake says the funds are exploiting the process; Delaware courts have previously allowed investors who bought after announcement to seek appraisal. The lawsuit also arrives after state-law changes made some fiduciary-duty claims harder, increasing the relative attraction of appraisal as both a remedy and a route to confidential documents.