John F. Grossbauer
Partner

TEL: (302) 984-6131
FAX: (302) 778-6131
jgrossbauer@potteranderson.com
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Mr. Grossbauer concentrates his practice in the areas of corporation law and commercial transactions; he regularly advises public and private corporations and their boards of directors with respect to all aspects of the Delaware General Corporation Law, ranging from advice regarding the fiduciary duties of directors to technical compliance with the various provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.  Mr. Grossbauer has advised a number of clients involved in proxy contests, both as dissidents and incumbents, and he has extensive experience representing purchasers and sellers in negotiated acquisitions of assets and businesses, both on a national and an international level.  Mr. Grossbauer also authors opinion letters on matters of Delaware corporation law, including opinions relating to shareholder proposals.  Mr. Grossbauer has been named by Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading Delaware Corporate/M&A Practitioner and by Lawdragon as one of "3000 Leading Lawyers in America" and one of "The Law Dragon 500 Leading Dealmakers."

Education

  • Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1986
  • Pennsylvania State University, B.A., With Highest Honors, 1983

Representative Matters

Mr. Grossbauer has advised on a number of recent public company transactions, including representing a special committee of directors of Harrahs, Inc. in its going-private transaction, Solectron in its pending acquisition by Flextronics, Prism Business Media, Inc. in its acquisition of Penton Media, Inc., Premium Standard Farms in its sale to Smithfield Foods, The McClatchy Company in its acquisition of Knight-Ridder, AmeriTrade in the acquisition of TDWaterhouse, R.H. Donnelley in its acquisition of Dex Media, Inc., Cerberus in connection with its acqusition of a controlling stake in GMAC, a special committeee of West Corporation in its leveraged recapitalization by TH Lee, and iFilm in its acquisition by Viacom.  Recent proxy contest activity includes contests involving Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., infoUSA, The Walt Disney Corporation and El Paso Corporation.  

Seminars & Speeches

Mr. Grossbauer is a frequent speaker on matters of Delaware corporation law. He recently served as the sole Delaware speaker at a conference titled "Implementing the SEC's New Executive Compensation Disclosures: What You Need to Do Now!", co-sponsored by The CorporateCounsel.net and CompensationStandards.com, and also spoke at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals in Philadelphia, PA. In addition, Mr. Grossbauer has served as a speaker on Delaware corporate law issues for a number of national and regional law firms as part of their internal continuing education programs.

Professional Activities

  • Delaware State Bar Association: Member, Council of the Corporation Law Section
  • American Bar Association: Co-Chair, Subcommittee on Indemnification, Task Force on Director & Officer Liability, Business Law Section; International M&A Subcommittee, Negotiated Acquisitions Committee, Business Law Section