Crane Co. v. Anaconda Co.
Court of Appeals of New York
346 N.E.2d 507 (N.Y. 1976)
Relevant factsFree
Crane Co. (plaintiff), after acquiring some Anaconda stock, announced a tender offer for up to 5 million additional shares (over a fifth of Anaconda's outstanding stock) and requested Anaconda's (defendant) shareholder list to communicate the offer to remaining shareholders; Anaconda refused, arguing that soliciting stock sales did not concern the corporation's business under the governing statute. The trial court dismissed Crane's suit, the appellate court reversed, and Anaconda appealed.
IssueFree
Whether a stockholder may inspect the corporation's list of stockholders to ascertain the identity of fellow stockholders for the purposes of communicating a tender offer.