Sure, if an executive of an acquiror has an LP interest in a VC fund that owns shares in the acquired company (as in the CSCO example you mention), then the exe

Sure, if an executive of an acquiror has an LP interest in a VC fund that owns shares in the acquired company (as in the CSCO example you mention), then the executive should disclose that to public investors and/or recuse himself from the consideration of the deal. But that's a protection for public shareholders of the acquiring corp, not a protection for the startup being acquired. (Public shareholders have a host of principal-agent problems to contend with, this among them; worse still is share repurchases to avoid option dilution, but that's another subject.) To the extent such disclosure makes an acquisition by CSCO less likely (as Chambers is reluctant to disclose his LP interest), then it's a potential concern for the startup. I'm not aware of that ever happening, however.