Avis Shareholder, Board Beat Investor’s Stock Repurchase Suit

Avis Budget Group Inc. board members and a large shareholder escaped investor allegations that stock repurchases allowed a hedge fund to gain control of the car rental company without paying a premium.

The investor failed to establish that a pre-suit demand on most of Avis’ board would’ve been futile, a requirement under Delaware law, Judge Julien Xavier Neals said while dismissing the derivative complaint. Stockholder Paula DeAngelis failed to plead that the four outside directors had a material benefit from challenged conduct, faced a substantial likelihood of liability, or weren’t independent from hedge fund SRS Investment Management LLC, the ...