The Nature of Short Selling Attacks and Short Reports -
Short selling attacks create unique challenges for boards, management teams and companies. Unlike traditional long activists, whose ultimate goal is to enhance...more
Short sellers make their money by publishing information that attacks a company in order to drive down its share price. How can a company prepare? And what should it not do in the face of a short attack? We offer some tips in...more
9/7/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delisting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Internal Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sellers ,
Share Buybacks ,
Shareholders ,
Short Selling ,
UK
Shareholder meetings held this year are subject to new rules that require both companies and activist shareholders to use “universal” proxy cards in contested board elections. Until now, the company and the dissident...more
2/22/2023
/ Activist ,
Board of Directors ,
Bylaws ,
New Rules ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Universal Proxy ,
Universal Proxy Cards
In the current environment, tax-free spinoffs may be the best option for companies focusing their business lines, we explain in this issue of The Informed Board. Spin-offs do not depend on third parties, and they preserve...more
2/20/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Insider Trading ,
Multinationals ,
Proxy Voting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Evaluations ,
Shareholders
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) new universal proxy rules, which took effect for meetings after August 31, 2022, require the use of “universal” proxy cards in all director election contests, except for...more
1/6/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure ,
New Rules ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Universal Proxy Cards
On February 26, 2021, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery permanently enjoined a stockholder rights plan — or so-called “poison pill” — with a 5% trigger that The Williams Companies, Inc....more
Takeaways
- Activism is likely to rebound as the business world recovers from COVID-19 disruptions.
- Some activists are raising permanent capital, giving them new leverage, and activist approaches have become more...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recently announced updates to their proxy voting guidelines for the 2021 proxy season. These updates reflect institutional investors’ increased...more
12/14/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
The evolving coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused profound worldwide human suffering, has also severely impacted global business and financial markets. Corporate boards of directors and management teams are...more
The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2020 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which we...more
12/3/2019
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Director Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Glass Lewis ,
Hedging ,
Insider Trading ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On October 16, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (SLB 14K), providing updated guidance concerning shareholder...more
Shareholder activism remains pervasive in the corporate landscape, as many companies continue to face new, and sometimes more sophisticated, activist situations. Recent activism-related trends indicate that the landscape is...more
9/27/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Institutional Investors ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Proxy Contests ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
In 2018, robust U.S. and global M&A activity substantially mitigated the downside risk for activist investors. With political uncertainty ahead of the 2020 presidential election, unsettled questions on trade and tariffs, and...more
4/23/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Index Funds ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Activism
On October 23, 2018, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (SLB 14J), which provides important guidance concerning shareholder...more
10/25/2018
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Executive Compensation ,
Micromanagement ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Relief ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On March 28, 2018, Skadden hosted the webinar “Navigating the Current Landscape of Shareholder Activism,” the fifth and final program in the 2017-18 SEC Reporting & Compliance and Corporate Governance Series. The panelists...more
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently announced updates to its U.S. proxy voting guidelines for the 2018 proxy season. Although the updates are not likely to have a significant impact on 2018...more
11/21/2017
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Director Compensation ,
Diversity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Pledges ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
In the past year, more than 50 publicly traded companies, including 19 on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, have amended their bylaws to address the potential for a so-called “placeholder slate” of directors. The bylaw...more
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2017 annual meeting and reporting season. Once again, we have prepared a checklist of essential areas on which we believe companies should focus as they plan for the...more
12/8/2016
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audit Committee ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On October 26, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 2-to-1 to propose amendments to the proxy rules that would require the use of universal proxy cards in contested elections. The proposed changes, if...more
10/28/2016
/ Amended Rules ,
Board of Directors ,
Contested Elections ,
Director Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Materials ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Shareholders ,
Universal Proxy Cards
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recently issued its U.S. voting policy guidelines for the 2016 proxy season. The guidelines include a few key changes, a summary of which is outlined below.
Conflicting Shareholder...more
11/23/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Conflicting Proposals ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Director Nominations ,
Exclusive Forum ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
On September 17, 2015, Skadden presented a webinar titled “Proxy Access: Latest Developments.” The panelists were Art Crozier, Chairman of Innisfree M&A Incorporated; Mike Garland, Assistant Comptroller for Corporate...more
10/7/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Continuous Holder Requirement ,
Director Nominations ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Access Rule ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Stock Ownership
Although the 2015 annual meeting season is still winding down, there is no doubt that proxy access has gained considerable momentum and will remain a front-and-center corporate governance issue for the foreseeable future. For...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision on April 14, 2015 that reversed a U.S. District Court opinion and vacated a permanent injunction that would have required Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to include a...more
4/16/2015
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Proxy Statements ,
Reversal ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Wal-Mart
Although Insights is intended to cover a wide range of issues, there are a number of topics we believe will be of particular interest to directors and senior corporate executives. Below is an introduction to these topics and...more
1/29/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Directors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Proxy Access Rule ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders