The IPO Task Force seems to have come together again. The Center for Capital Markets released a letter dated August 22, 2017 addressed to the Treasury Secretary setting out a few suggestions, which are quite similar to those that had been advanced a few years ago, and that have as their objective increasing the number of public companies. The suggestions include:
-
Extending the Title I JOBS Act on-ramp accommodations from five to ten years for EGCs and reviewing the EGC definition;
-
Making the JOBS Act accommodations available to all issuers, not just EGCs;
-
Modernizing the Sarbanes-Oxley internal control over financial reporting requirements;
-
Modernizing securities disclosure requirements;
-
Addressing the rules related to shareholder proposals and regulating proxy advisory firms;
-
Promoting equity market structure changes that enhance liquidity for EGC and small cap stocks; and
-
Incentivizing research coverage.
A bit of additional commentary on these suggestions is offered in the letter, which may be found here: http://www.centerforcapitalmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Follow-Up-Letter-to-July-28-Roundtable-on-Access-to-Capital.pdf?x48633
[View source.]