On May 21, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted extensive changes to the financial disclosure requirements for business acquisitions and dispositions. The amendments are intended to reduce the complexity...more
5/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Rules ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dispositions ,
Financial Reporting ,
GAAP ,
IFRS ,
Income Test ,
Investment Test ,
Management Adjustments ,
Popular ,
Pro Forma Financial Information ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax-Free Spin-Offs
On April 6, 2020, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed an immediately effective rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that waives the application of certain shareholder approval requirements...more
In light of the recent downturn and increased volatility in the global financial markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of companies have raised questions regarding the best practices and desirability of repurchasing...more
On March 12, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act to reduce burdens and compliance...more
On March 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced proposed amendments to the exempt offering framework. The proposals target harmonization, simplification and improvement of the existing rules and...more
On March 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments that reduce and simplify the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed...more
3/9/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Debt Securities ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Guarantors ,
Parent Corporation ,
Public Offerings ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
In 2019, a wave of bond-to-bond refinancings, as well as significant bank and term loan-to-bond refinancings, punctuated a strong year for debt financings after a slow first quarter. Throughout last year, debt investors...more
1/23/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Bonds ,
Debt Financing ,
Debt Market ,
EBITDA ,
EU ,
Global Market ,
High-Yield Markets ,
IFRS ,
Interest Rates ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Libor ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
United States
On November 26, 2019, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed a notice of proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would have modified NYSE’s direct listing rules to (1) permit companies to...more
12/10/2019
/ Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
Direct Listing ,
Distribution Rules ,
NPRM ,
NYSE ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions
As the end of the year approaches, reporting companies should be aware of the various SEC filing deadlines for 2020. Companies also should be mindful of the 2020 financial statement “staleness” dates, the deadlines by which...more
There have been significant recent developments in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation of foreign private issuers, (FPIs) including changes that impact the annual report on Form 20-F for fiscal year 2019....more
11/1/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Rules ,
Annual Reports ,
Audit Reports ,
Compliance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 20-F ,
GAAP ,
IASB ,
IFRS ,
Libor ,
MD&A Statements ,
Mining ,
Multinationals ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
PCAOB ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Sustainability ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Wars ,
UK Brexit ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new Rule 163B and related amendments under the Securities Act to expand the permitted use of “testing-the-waters” communications to all companies...more
9/28/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Business Development Companies ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Exemptions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Institutional Investors ,
New Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Rule 163B ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
In this issue of The Distributed Ledger, we discuss the IRS' warning letters for over 10,000 cryptocurrency holders, the SEC's settlement with a blockchain company regarding unregistered ICO transactions, and a European...more
9/23/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ethereum ,
FinHub ,
Gaming ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
IRS ,
No-Action Letters ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Warning Letters
On July 12, 2019, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance, Division of Investment Management, Division of Trading and Markets, and Office of the Chief Accountant (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
7/25/2019
/ Asset-Backed Loans (ABLs) ,
Benchmarks ,
Bonds ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Contract Terms ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Division of Investment Management ,
FASB ,
Floating NAV ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Libor ,
Loans ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transitional Arrangements
On May 3, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed extensive changes to the financial disclosure requirements for business acquisitions and dispositions. The proposed amendments are intended to reduce...more
5/14/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
GAAP ,
IASB ,
IFRS ,
Income Test ,
Investment Test ,
Pro Forma Financial Information ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulation S-X ,
Rule 3-05 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In this issue, we examine the release of the much-anticipated Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) guidance for analyzing how U.S. federal securities laws apply to initial coin offerings, the...more
4/16/2019
/ Advertising ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CNIL ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default ,
Digital Assets ,
Discovery ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Ethereum ,
EU ,
FinHub ,
France ,
Frozen Assets ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYDFS ,
Offerings ,
Payment Tokens ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Plea Agreements ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Profits ,
Public Comment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Smart Contracts ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On February 19, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to propose a new rule and related amendments under the Securities Act that would expand the permissible use of testing-the-waters communications to...more
2/22/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Capital Formation ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
JOBS Act ,
Offerors ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Regulation FD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
On January 25, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a continuing resolution that immediately reopened the federal government through February 15, 2019. The three-week continuing resolution is a welcome development,...more
1/28/2019
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Financial Statements ,
Government Shutdown ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Materials ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
This is the second edition of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this issue, we examine the SEC’s new...more
11/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
CNIL ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
FATF ,
FinHub ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Virtual Currency
This is the inaugural issue of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this edition, we examine a federal...more
10/16/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Research and Development ,
Smart Contracts ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
Trade Market Abuse ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Young Lawyers
On July 24, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rule amendments that would simplify the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings for guarantors and issuers of...more
8/9/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Debt Securities ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Guarantors ,
Parent Corporation ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation S-X ,
Rule 144A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
On July 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release soliciting public comment on ways to modernize Rule 701 and Form S-8 of the Securities Act of 1933 to account for recent developments...more
8/3/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Corporate Officers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Stock Purchase Rights ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Statements ,
Form S-8 ,
Offerings ,
Private Offerings ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Qualified Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solicitation ,
Stock Options ,
Threshold Requirements
On July 17, 2018, the House of Representatives passed the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act (JOBS Act 3.0), a package of reforms consisting of 32 pieces of legislation principally designed to spur entrepreneurship by...more
7/24/2018
/ Accredited Investors ,
Angel Investors ,
Capital Formation ,
Dual Class Share Structures ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JOBS Act ,
M&A Brokers ,
Private Offerings ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Startups ,
Venture Funding
On July 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended Rule 701(e) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), as mandated by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The...more
On June 28, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved amendments to the definition of “smaller reporting company” (SRC) that will substantially expand the number of companies that will qualify for the scaled...more