In its recent decision in Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc., Case No. 2020-0444-JRS, 2021 WL 3855514 (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2021) (Slights, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed plaintiff’s breach of contract and other...more
Despite SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent statement that formal rules related to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) may slip to next year, the SEC recently began sending out letters prompting public companies to review and...more
As we have discussed in prior alerts, expanding boardroom diversity has been a recent focus for many regulators, issuers, shareholders and other stakeholders. To this end, in December 2020, Nasdaq Inc. proposed new rules that...more
On Friday, June 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed its Agency Rule List for Spring 2021 with the Office of Management and Budget. The Agency Rule List gives clarity to when companies can expect to see...more
6/16/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
As we noted in a previous client alert, the Biden administration has taken significant steps to strengthen enforcement and oversight relating to ESG issues early on in its tenure. In January, the president issued an executive...more
6/2/2021
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision prohibiting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from using its preferred tool for regulating marketplace misconduct. ...more
In a prior alert, we noted that a number of shareholder lawsuits were brought during 2020 in which large corporations and their directors were accused of fiduciary breaches and securities law violations tied to the alleged...more
3/26/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivative Complaint ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Facebook ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholders
On March 5, 2021, the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) made important announcements regarding the timelines of the cessations...more
On March 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had charged AT&T and three of its midlevel investor relations executives with violating Regulation FD, a rule that bars issuers from selectively...more
On Dec. 28, 2020, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) proposed amendments to its rules requiring shareholder approval prior to the issuance of securities to Related Parties or in excess of 20% of the issuer’s voting power or...more
On Dec. 22, 2020, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic 11 – Special Purpose Acquisition Companies to provide its views about certain disclosure considerations for...more
The change in administration that will take place on Jan. 20, 2021, will likely have significant consequences for leveraged lending market participants. The relatively “soft touch” regulatory approach taken by federal...more
On Dec. 16, 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (the GAO) issued a report to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Department of the Treasury, the...more
On Nov. 19, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the disclosure rules affecting Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and related financial disclosures. ...more
On Nov. 30, 2020, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. announced that ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) is proposing the cessation of the publication of the one-week and two-month U.S. dollar LIBOR on Dec. 31, 2021, and...more
On Nov. 5, the federal banking regulatory agencies (the Agencies) gave notice of a proposed rule (the Proposed Rule) that would elevate to the status of a formal rule and enhance the Agencies’ current policy of not issuing...more
In a recent settled administrative proceeding, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) imposed a $20 million fine and a cease-and-desist order on Andeavor LLC, a Texas energy company, in connection with...more
Recent events have brought renewed attention to the push for greater diversity in the boardroom. In this alert, we discuss several developments highlighting the need for public company directors to remain focused on diversity...more
10/26/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Gender Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Woman Board Members
On September 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the “shareholder proposal rule” set forth in Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which governs the process for a shareholder to have...more
On Sept. 21, 2020, SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) posted a Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (CDI) regarding restrictions on Form S-3 eligibility for private companies that go public via merger into a...more
On Sept. 9, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance (the Division) amended CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 7 (Topic No. 7) and issued guidance regarding the options available to companies when a previously obtained...more
On Aug. 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the definitions of “accredited investor” and “qualified institutional buyer.” ...more
On Aug. 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the description of business (Item 101), legal proceedings (Item 103) and risk factor (Item 105) disclosure requirements under Regulation S-K. ...more
On July 9, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published a report on the findings of surveys on supervisory issues related to LIBOR transition undertaken by the FSB, the...more
In January 2020, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) included London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) preparedness as an examination program priority in its 2020 Examination Priorities (2020...more