[ThrustVectoring]

You probably want to talk to a lawyer.

The executives have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of shareholders. That means you. What that means in an acquisition can vary a lot depending on the specific details of the deal.

This is the extent of my legal knowledge on the subject, which is why you need to talk to a lawyer. The likely result of this avenue depends a lot on the amount at stake - if you paid like $5k to exercise, you probably pay the lawyer hundreds of dollars to send a letter and then negotiate a settlement that pays you 4 or 5 figures, avoiding the expense and risk of a lawsuit on both sides. Assuming of course, that you're already a former employee - current employees can and should have negotiated waiving their shareholder rights as part of the acquisition deal, assuming that their expertise is part of how the acquiring company is valuing the deal.

[throwaway23334]

Thanks for the advice. I think with a transaction of this size, the company/founders/executives would be violating their fiduciary responsibility to NOT settle up former employees who are a threatening a lawsuit. The settlement would likely be petty cash for them.

[icedchai]

Likely everything they are doing is legal and done according to the agreements they have with their preferred investors. Common shareholders are last in line.