BDO Employee Stock Ownership Plan Suit Axed on Standing Grounds

BDO USA PC notched an early win in a lawsuit over its employee stock ownership plan when a federal judge said the complaint didn’t identify a tangible injury that would give workers standing to sue.

The proposed class action centers on an August 2023 transaction in which a newly established ESOP purchased 42% of BDO’s common stock from executives and other principals for about $1.3 billion in an exchange financed by a private credit deal with Apollo Global Management affiliates.

Plaintiff Tristin Taylor said the transaction was done at an inflated purchase price that gave workers a bad deal, but ...