Verisk v. AccuLynx – Implications For Antitrust Approval

On August 7, 2026, the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered Verisk Analytics, Inc. to move forward with its purportedly terminated $2.35 billion proposed acquisition of AccuLynx.com. The Court concluded that Verisk’s termination of the transaction was invalid and ordered specific performance. That remedy is extraordinary—and rarely ordered—in the M&A context, particularly where the parties must still substantially comply with a costly and time-consuming Second Request issued by the FTC and wait until expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period before they can close. Indeed, it has been nearly 18 years since Hexion v. Huntsman, the last significant “busted deal” litigation where a buyer was ordered to specifically perform its obligations to satisfy a regulatory approval covenant.