Investigation Overview
An investigation on behalf of current long-term investors in shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM ) was announced over potential breaches of fiduciary duties by certain officers and directors at IBM.
The investigation by a law firm concerns whether certain IBM directors breached their fiduciary duties and caused damage to the company and its shareholders.
On October 28, 2018, IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) announced that the companies have reached an agreement under which IBM will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Red Hat for $190.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $34 billion.
Following the announcement shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) declined to as low as $114.09 per share on October 31, 2018.
In response to International Business Machines Corp.'s announcement, Moody's Investor Service announced its review of IBM's credit rating for potential downgrade for IBM's substantial increase in leverage.
On November 2, 2018, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) shares closed at $115.67 per share.