1984 Redux?

As explained in this case study (pdf):

In early 1984, Pennzoil and Getty Oil agreed to the terms of a merger. But before any formal documents could be signed, Texaco offered Getty Oil a substantially better price, and Gordon Getty, who controlled most of the Getty shares, reneged on the Pennzoil deal and sold to Texaco. Naturally, Pennzoil felt as if it had been dealt with unfairly and immediately filed a lawsuit against Texaco alleging that Texaco had interfered illegally in the Pennzoil?Getty negotiations. Pennzoil won the case; in late 1985 it was awarded
$11.1 billion, the largest judgement ever in the U.S. An appeals court reduced the judgement by $2 billion, but interest and penalties drove the total back up to $10.3 billion.

History seems to be repeating itself in the battle between Citigroup and Wells Fargo over who will buy Wachovia. As reported in today’s New York Times, “Wachovia was on the verge of collapse last week until Citigroup salvaged it in a government-backed deal that was upended Friday, when Wells Fargo made its startling bid. The announcement touched off a whirlwind of legal activity and angry recriminations by Citigroup . . . .”

Lawyers for Citigroup and Wells Fargo argued at a judge’s home on Saturday evening, Citigroup’s lawyers in person and Wells Fargo’s by telephone. As of now, the status of the situation is very much up in the air, though the Times hardly minimizes the dispute’s importance: “At stake is the shape of the American banking system, which is being redrawn almost weekly as a handful of large players merge, and the government’s own standing to broker future bank rescues . . . . .