Preferred Stock Rights Based on Contract Principles
Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, Ltd. v. Granite Broadcasting Corporation , (read opinion online here. ) In this Chancery Court case the court held that a holder of redeemable preferred stock did not have standing to enjoin the sale of assets that violate the terms of an indenture and that would allegedly constitute a fraudulent conveyance. The court concluded based on the review of documents that the redeemable preferred stock at issue has not and never will give rise to a right to payment against the corporation. This is so despite new GAAP accounting rules that even according to the corporation’s own financial statements treat the preferred stock at issue in accordance with FAS 150.
