Key Takeaways
- • Delaware's Supreme Court ruled for ATG Capital Opportunities LP on Thursday, October 8, 2026, upholding an August Delaware Chancery Court decision in the proxy dispute with Empery Digital Inc.
- • The court issued a one-page ruling just one day after hearing oral arguments, signaling a swift disposition of the appeal.
- • Empery Digital's CEO and board lost their bid to avoid a proxy contest, which is now set for an October 14 shareholder vote.
- • Empery is a "digital asset treasury" whose core strategy is buying and holding Bitcoin, making the outcome a test case for activist pressure on crypto treasury vehicles.
Summary
Delaware's top court ruled Thursday in favor of ATG Capital Opportunities LP, an activist hedge fund, in its dispute with Empery Digital Inc., according to Bloomberg Law. The Delaware Supreme Court's decision upheld an August ruling by a Delaware Chancery Court judge, which had required the company to face a proxy contest rather than avoid one. The high court issued its decision in a single page, one day after hearing the appeal.
Empery Digital describes itself as a "digital asset treasury" devoted to buying and holding Bitcoin. Its CEO and board had sought to block the hedge fund's effort to win board seats, and the appeal was their last legal avenue to do so. With the ruling, the company's sitting board, which is led by the current management, will face ATG's nominees in a shareholder vote scheduled for October 14, 2026.
The case is one of several recent disputes in which Delaware courts have weighed in on proxy contests. Earlier in the same litigation, the Chancery Court had refused to let Empery immediately appeal the ruling requiring it to submit to the contest, according to a separate report in the publisher's archive. Bloomberg Law's coverage did not disclose the specific board nominees or the financial terms of ATG's position, and the full article was partly behind a paywall at the time of publication.
Empery Digital describes itself as a "digital asset treasury" devoted to buying and holding Bitcoin. Its CEO and board had sought to block the hedge fund's effort to win board seats, and the appeal was their last legal avenue to do so. With the ruling, the company's sitting board, which is led by the current management, will face ATG's nominees in a shareholder vote scheduled for October 14, 2026.
The case is one of several recent disputes in which Delaware courts have weighed in on proxy contests. Earlier in the same litigation, the Chancery Court had refused to let Empery immediately appeal the ruling requiring it to submit to the contest, according to a separate report in the publisher's archive. Bloomberg Law's coverage did not disclose the specific board nominees or the financial terms of ATG's position, and the full article was partly behind a paywall at the time of publication.
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