EXCLUSIVEBlue state governor rebukes Texas and Nevada over sneaky bid to steal industry worth billions
Delaware’s Governor has dismissed Texas and Nevada's attempts to steal companies incorporated in The First State.
New Governor Matt Meyer has been in office just two months but has already made major changes to the state’s corporate law, limiting the ability of shareholders to sue a company’s founders.
The rapid changes are an attempt to stem the tide of companies leaving Delaware to incorporate in other states - dubbed 'Dexit' - but critics argue it merely makes the state friendlier to billionaires.
Companies must pay states fees in order to incorporate their companies there and be protected under their state law, should any disputes or other incidents arise.
More than 60 percent of the S&P 500 is incorporated in Delaware, and one third of the state's budget is generated by the $2 billion of corporation fees they collect annually.
Texas and Nevada have been circling the First State's lucrative incorporation supremacy for years, offering tax incentives and looser corporate laws to lure away founders and their companies.
Now Governor Meyer has introduced sweeping changes to Delaware law his message to those states is clear: you can try, but you will not succeed.
‘Delaware had been the global leader in corporate franchise for over 100 years,’ Meyer told DailyMail.com.
Delaware's new Governor Matt Meyer is working to take the sting out of 'Dexit'
‘Before Delaware, New Jersey was the leader and New Jersey lost it because they weren't nimble. They didn't change with the times.’
The high profile case of a Delaware court blocking a $55.8 billion pay package from Tesla to Elon Musk threw the region's status as the premier incorporation destination into sharp relief.
In response Musk uprooted Tesla's legal home to Texas, spurring several other billionaire-led companies to leave Delaware too.
Others such as Meta - who is facing a court case over data privacy in Delaware later this year - is threatening to follow suit.
‘There are things we need to do to lead and make sure that we're not just looking in the rear view mirror,’ Meyer admitted.
‘We need to provide clarity, predictability and fairness to the market in 2026 and beyond.’
However, Meyer is adamant that ‘Senate Bill 21 was not written by billionaires. It was not written for billionaires.’
Indeed Meyer said that lobbyists for many of the billionaires with companies incorporated in Delaware actually sent him their own drafts of the law, which he rejected.
Elon Musk moved Tesla to Texas after a Delaware court blocked his $55.8bn pay package
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (left) and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (right) have both made bids for businesses to move to their states
Delaware is also known for being the longtime home of former president Joe Biden
‘What they proposed was pretty much a replica of Texas law,’ Meyer told DailyMail.com.
Texas’s governor Greg Abbott, a Trump loyalist, has made highly publicized efforts to lure companies to the Lone Star state.
Meyer dismissed the idea that Texas or Nevada are a threat to its incorporation supremacy.
‘It’s nothing new, North Dakota tried 20 years ago,’ Meyer said.
‘We've been number one for a long time. It doesn't surprise me. They say iron sharpens iron. If states want to come after us and try to take our business, they should do so.’
‘My interest is not a left wing interest or a right wing interest,' he said of the imperative to change he law.
'It's not a woke interest or a MAGA interest. My interest is clarity, predictability and fairness in the law, and as long as we continue to do that in Delaware, we're going to win.’
