Xenith’s headquarters is downtown at the James Center. (BizSense file photo)
Two months after it was acquired by a larger local peer, a Richmond bank has rid itself of one more vestige of its previous life.
The second of two lawsuits filed last year against the parent company of Xenith Bank – both related to the now-completed deal to be acquired by downtown-based Union Bank & Trust – has been dismissed.
The defendants, which also included former CEO Gaylon Layfield and the company’s former board members, were freed Feb. 21 from the suit, originally filed Sept. 19 in Richmond federal court by Xenith shareholder Shannon Rowe.
The case alleged violations of provisions of the Securities and Exchange Act, claiming the company omitted important information in documents related to its deal with Union. The suit sought to prevent the deal from being consummated.
Rowe voluntarily dismissed the suit, court records show, without Xenith having to file a response to the complaint. Union’s acquisition of Xenith was completed Jan. 1.
The fate of Rowe’s suit follows the dismissal in November of a similar case filed days earlier by another Xenith shareholder.
Both suits were the latest local examples of M&A-chasing lawsuits, those that are filed swiftly after the announcement of deals involving publicly traded companies.
Such suits are often similarly worded, make similar claims and are handled by class action law firms that routinely put out “shareholder alerts” when a big merger is announced.
The cases often end with little consequence, either being dismissed or tossed after the parties agree to tweak certain disclosures in SEC filings.
The plaintiffs in both Xenith cases were represented by Washington, D.C. law firm Levi & Korsinsky.
The Xenith defendants were represented by Hunton & Williams attorneys Edward Fuhr, Eric Feiler and Johnathon Schronce.
Xenith’s headquarters is downtown at the James Center. (BizSense file photo)
Two months after it was acquired by a larger local peer, a Richmond bank has rid itself of one more vestige of its previous life.
The second of two lawsuits filed last year against the parent company of Xenith Bank – both related to the now-completed deal to be acquired by downtown-based Union Bank & Trust – has been dismissed.
The defendants, which also included former CEO Gaylon Layfield and the company’s former board members, were freed Feb. 21 from the suit, originally filed Sept. 19 in Richmond federal court by Xenith shareholder Shannon Rowe.
The case alleged violations of provisions of the Securities and Exchange Act, claiming the company omitted important information in documents related to its deal with Union. The suit sought to prevent the deal from being consummated.
Rowe voluntarily dismissed the suit, court records show, without Xenith having to file a response to the complaint. Union’s acquisition of Xenith was completed Jan. 1.
The fate of Rowe’s suit follows the dismissal in November of a similar case filed days earlier by another Xenith shareholder.
Both suits were the latest local examples of M&A-chasing lawsuits, those that are filed swiftly after the announcement of deals involving publicly traded companies.
Such suits are often similarly worded, make similar claims and are handled by class action law firms that routinely put out “shareholder alerts” when a big merger is announced.
The cases often end with little consequence, either being dismissed or tossed after the parties agree to tweak certain disclosures in SEC filings.
The plaintiffs in both Xenith cases were represented by Washington, D.C. law firm Levi & Korsinsky.
The Xenith defendants were represented by Hunton & Williams attorneys Edward Fuhr, Eric Feiler and Johnathon Schronce.